“First Pal” is a portrait of my daughter’s first pony, a section B, 12 hand Welsh Pony, which I bought as a weanling for her fifth birthday. Capriceaux and Marissa grew up together. You can read more about them at Marissa and Capriceaux or just watch the video Pony Pals video

It took me awhile to finish this painting; sometimes how to resolve/finish a painting can be elusive. When that happens, I’ve found the best strategy is to stop painting and simply think about different approaches. Returning from the sketching trip to Texas reignited my creative flow. I played up the negative grass shapes, adding some counterchange and juxtaposing negative grasses from the pour with positive grasses, painted with the brush. I added atmosphere in the background with wet-into-wet painting, and finished with textural splatters. To review the painting process for this painting, visit Demo part 1 and Demo part 2.
