Largest Canvas to date, Grey Horse Composition VIII

Grey Horse Composition

Grey Horse Composition

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Grey Horse Composition

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Grey Horse Composition

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Grey Horse Composition oil colors palette

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Grey Horse Composition oil colors palette

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Grey Horse Composition progress photo 1

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Grey Horse Composition progress photo 1

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Grey Horse Composition progress photo 2

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Grey Horse Composition

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Grey Horse Composition, Holsteiner stallion R-Flash

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'Grey Horse Composition VIII in Neutral Palette' is Gail's largest canvas to date. It was painted on site in Tiffany and Joey's new contemporary home of chic style in July 2024. The very specific tones challenged Gail's use of color in a new direction, a matching neutral palette.

In this community of top notch horsemen and women we all know what a lifetime of dedication can bring to a performance. Many have heard the story of Picasso when he asked a large sum for a napkin scribble requested by a waitress. She said “It only took you 30 seconds to do that”. He replied “No, it has taken me forty years to do that.”

I think all riders would also agree that two performances can never be the same. To me this is the definition of art. It’s a performance full of emotional inspiration allowing natural pace or speed while in a zone. One depends on your many years of training, experience, patience or lack of it to bring you thoughts faster than you can argue with the brush. It’s the same as achieving perfect balance and flow without pulling on the reins and second guessing yourself.

It was a glorious evening with a full moon rising when I got the text from Tiffany in the fall of 2023 asking if I would paint a large neutral tone canvas for her living room. I had never seen the space but knew this was going to be a special experience. The timing felt exact since I had just wished earlier that week for such a commission. We had foaled her mare the year prior and loved working with her. She was patient and intuitive absorbing all the pleasures and challenges of getting to attend her mare foaling.

I have done some large canvases but maxed out at 60” on the long side. Larger really requires special attention to the bars and quality of canvas to prevent warping. We decided right away to ask Coto, Gargiulo Picture Framing, in The Plains VA to stretch the French linen. Tiffany had masked out the area, high on a ladder, and found that we needed 62” x 92”. Hopeful to have it done by Christmas, we were on a roll. With a background in magazine graphic design, I love the spark that deadlines create when painting. It’s my ‘in gate’ moment.

We picked up the canvas in Tiffany’s horse trailer strapping it in just right. We laughed about the possibility of using shavings smashed into white paint. The canvas just made it up the steps to my studio to a wall with a few inches clearance. Dry time was a concern at this point. Cool weather was here and thick white paint is slow to dry. Shavings in white paint was not really our desired outcome.

The composition was pretty easy to settle on due to the proportions. Not going beyond life size was important to me as well as dynamically filling canvas without overwhelming the room. My stallion, R-Flash v. R-Saluut II, was the perfect model. His numerous lines back to Ramzes make him a bit spicy, standing on his hind legs often. His proportions are that of a beefy old fashioned Holsteiner with lots Arab influence. With years of photos and videos there was plenty of material to work from.

Strong color and line has always been my forte. For years I have painted from greyscale references so as not to get too wrapped up in what a camera sees for color. I choose a minimal palette that will set a mood and translate those colors to the composition. This project took me to the outer fringes of my comfort zone, neutrals. I would be searching for clean neutrals that glow and don’t get pasty. As a web programmer I had spent much of Covid scraping paint colors from art stores and organizing them by unique verses mixed tubes (artoilcolor.com). My cheat sheet program was useful as I searched my database of mixed tubes for best combinations. I ordered many versions of pure pigments not knowing which would ultimately be the right combination. If I was to get done in time for Christmas, there would not be time to reorder.

When you think everything is going wrong, maybe it’s going just right! The paint did not make it in time. Actually, the medium arrived and we did not realize for weeks that the paint order had gone missing. It was cold January and days needed to get a bit longer before I really got down to work. The ‘delivered’ box had been delivered wrong. Panicked, we did at least have a picture of the box at someone’s door someplace on Snickersville Turnpike. I started from the west end and searched for the sage green shutters. A large tube of cobalt violet dark needed to be saved! It was a month or more later before they got home to get the note left on their door so a second shipment was sent graciously by Blick.

Where many clients might be loosing it at this point, Tiffany was calm and even entertained a bit. Stressful yes, but her attitude kept the air light for forward creativity to stay upon the project. I started what would be numerous studies, one small and the rest 24”x36”. She could always find something she liked in each one but still I was missing the right colors. It took me a while to adapt to this neutral sensitivity. Many might have given up on me but we kept going. I happened upon a combination, completely by accident, of indigo (PB66) and Cyprus Burnt Umber Warm (Pbr7). The rich brown (color of her wood floors) taupe, soft grey and warm white of her walls all were easy to mix quickly with different lead whites, titanium and a touch of viridian for highlights.

The last two mock up paintings hit the dark and soft side of what would be the final canvas. None of these mocks were exact representations of what was to come. I was leaving that experience for the big canvas. One could compare these to a good prep in the warm up ring and keep your winning ride for the show round. A new deadline was set for the finished canvas. Tiffany and Joeys anniversary party was coming up. Again, I love a deadline. Then thought of white paint with dust, shavings, and nicks from travel crossed my mind again. We talked about painting it at her house instead and she was happy to accommodate. My art students were getting frustrated seeing the large blank canvas in my studio week after week. They would miss out on the process. I had become quite comfortable with the canvas size and was ready to smash some paint!

Tiffany had the canvas in her foyer and was more than happy to let me paint it right there. Concerned this would cause me fear of loosing control of splatter on to her beautiful trim and window frames not to mention wood floors…. we looked for another room. Renovations were under way in the basement but the workers were going to be off for a week. The floor was covered in paper already. All I needed was plastic on the wall and my supplies! Perfect.

I will always cherish the memories of painting on site. Originally, that had scared me. I listen to loud music that others don’t always appreciate. The light has to be just right and I may paint for unknown number of hours if I get into a zone and need to paint until I finish the thought. This was the most important canvas of my career and I wanted to make sure I got each stroke on in my comfort zone.

Many artists will ‘fix’ a painting and keep painting over and over until one gets to where you want to go. I shy from this method if at all possible. I want each layer to have purpose for the next layer building the paint in an order that will glow in the end. This linen canvas asked for such care and intuitive painting. I could choose to focus on that pressure or let go of the reins knowing I had done my homework well and just go! Once I got a brush to that canvas I was in my happy place. Tiffany’s husband Joey had brought us wine, cheese and snacks beautifully presented I might add.

I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to paint at life size on such a large canvas. The first day was a Saturday. The sun started to set pink against a huge sky and the Blue Ridge. We had perfect pizza from Knead Wine in Middleburg, VA. After a lovely dinner, I cleaned my brushes for the night. Spending time looking at the large view and feeling the joy in their space became part of the painting. None of this could have been captured had I painted in my studio. Tiffany also got to be there for every stroke that went on the canvas and brushed some on as well. I tried to sneak in a little light sienna while she fed the horses one afternoon and I had to laugh when I saw her instant ick response. Her eye sees exactly what she wants! Her guidance was always gracious.

On Thursday only a little work was left. The wet paint slid a lot daily. Some is ok underneath but the top really needed to have a bit more control. The bottom edge did not get covered when I was working the background. Joey mentioned he would prefer drips not be there since the bottom of the canvas would hang just above eye height. I slept on it. It is not easy to feather in such a soft semi transparent white without going too far and covering more than we wanted covered. Friday would be my last day. Somehow I mixed the white just right and matched it. That was probably the hardest part! I was so happy he requested that in the end. It needed it and only fear of messing up at the end was in my way. Rest, deep breath and go.

The canvas had to be moved upstairs by Monday when the workers came back. It was still wet but the move was easier than the trailer would have been. Three ladies, Tiffany the most brave of all high on the ladder, hung that canvas! I have been back multiple times to see it and I would not change a stroke. I see my horse clearly but I also see so much positive energy that painted in to the canvas. I have been impatient with my painting in the past. Maybe impatient isn’t the right word. Since art school day 1 I have always painting fast. Usually I put my best effort out in one canvas without searching far. Between the expectations requested on this piece, the patience allowed to me to discover the right path and even my regular painting students all took me down a new unexpected path. I can say I’m much different artist now. I’m a different person too. Following someone else’s vision and merging my own to it is very new and just the tip of the iceberg now.