For Santa Fe-based artist Ethelinda, it’s all about horses. She’s had a lifetime love of the sturdy, yet swift beasts, having both owned them and admired them from afar. “They’re so animated,” she says. “Horses are afraid of everything moving or not moving, so they are so fun to paint because they’re always ready to take off...I think they’re one of the most mystical animals in the world.”
Ricochet, oil, 52 x 58”
An upcoming exhibition at Manitou Galleries in Santa Fe, New Mexico, will showcase new oil paintings by Ethelinda that capture the form of the horse, static and in motion. Horses have always inspired her, and though she’s painted many different subjects—cows, burros, still lifes—they always come first. The artist explains that she is currently working on a variance of one of her previous themes, portraits of foals. But this time, she’s working on a full-body piece. “He will be a black-and-white pinto foal,” Ethelinda adds, with pinto referring to a type of coat in which the entire body has patches of white and another color.
Icicle, oil, 48 x 60”
Her favorite breed to depict? The Andalusian, Ethelinda says, without a doubt. “They’re so graceful yet very powerful.” She explains that in observing horses in real life and in photo reference, you pick up on the various ways in which different horses move and carry themselves. For instance, “a quarter horse throws his hooves differently than an Andalusian,” Ethelinda explains. “I do my best to [guide my] viewers to see what I see,” she says. The artist typically paints larger scale works, around 50 by 60 inches. “The horses really command that large size.”
Sable Horse, oil, 52 x 60”
The exhibition takes place at Manitou Galleries’ on Palace Avenue from October 1 to 29. An opening will be held Friday October 1 from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. —
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