I have recently been commissioned to paint Hugo a beautiful young horse for an 18th birthday present. Carrying out a portrait of such a beautiful animal is always a challenge the most important thing is to capture the personality and the essence of the subject and to still keep the watercolour fresh and bright. I love the watercolour technique but it is very important not to overwork your subject as they can quickly lose their brightness, so each mark on the paper has to be carefully considered to maintain the bright and loose style I try to achieve. When to finish can sometimes be the difficult part. During the process of painting Hugo I took photographs of the progress I was making and these were sent regularly to the client to check she was happy and if there were any points that needed addressing. Fortunately I knew when to stop painting as my client sent me this message... "That's it!! Now stop!!!! It's so stunning and I am now officially really excited!!!" Through this stage the painting was also sent to the horse breeder and fortunately they all felt I had captured him beautifully... Phew!!!
