Carefree Canter

This is our broodmare Rosey with her foal in the spring of 2010. I wanted to capture on paper the freedom which the two enjoyed together. When creating the composition, I wanted to place the duo in an environment of wide open spaces where one can breathe fresh air in an untarnished landscape.

I wanted also express the awesome feeling I experienced while through northern New Mexico on my medical journey, by drawing the landscape from memory and my own imagination.

I tried to capture all these elements.. from he bright blue sky with no cloud in sight, to the rolling plains of prairie grass ever so endless…accented by the beautiful illusion of the mountains in the distance, all basking in the afternoon sunlight. Yet through it all I wanted to let the viewer know that the horses are not wild, but have felt the leathery feel of a halter.

After some serious study and contemplation, I decided to add a windmill to balance the composition and give it a small sense of civilization.

The loneliness of my illness inspired freedom to be the focus of this piece. I wanted to leave everything behind just like this duo, and gallop carefree across the wide open spaces.

-Andy Mast