Skirmish, oil on canvas, 24 x 324 inches
Private collection, Prescott, AZ
 
My thanks to the collectors of this oil.
 
About this oil:
The inspiration for this piece came from a herd of wild horses in northwestern Colorado. During the spring and early summer, the males battle each other to be the leader of a small family band.
 
These two went after each other, skirmishing, for the better part of an hour, but they weren't completely serious about winning the battle. In fact, even though it was exciting to watch, it was a practice match.
 
My challenge was to keep the piece fresh and loose while still giving the viewer enough detail to sort out who was who. The other challenge was to keep the color palette a bit muted rather than going full-tilt on the reds and oranges.
 
The first session I blocked everything in and established lights, darks, and the base color. Once that was dry, I was able to finish up the oil in the second session by deepening the darks, adding highlights, and putting in some touches of fancy brushwork.