Guest Artist ~ Lise LeBlanc

In the equine art world, especially on a local level, artists sometimes seem to regard each other with a certain amount of suspicion. It's a strange thing I've never understood, but I've heard of it all over, not just in my 'jurisdiction' so to speak. I get that some people are competitive, but it's just not my thing. When I met Lise for the first time last fall, it was so refreshing to discover we were both on the same page - that there's a place for everybody, and each artist has something to offer. We should be working together instead of against each other, to increase the acceptance of equine art as a respected genre. We're not just little girls who like to paint horses. Look at the how often the horse appears in art through history. We're keeping that alive.

On a somewhat less serious note, there is potential for trouble when Lise and I get together, because, well, equine art aside, neither of us takes life too seriously and we seem to share an ability to see the absurd in things. Lise actually has a blog to that effect: The Big Filly Adventures. She's documenting her experience with her lovely Warmblood filly, Tia, and is in the process of developing these adventures into children's books. Over this past winter, which seemed so long and dreary, the adventures of Tia and Lise brightened many of my days! You can also see more of Lise's artwork on her blog, and Big Filly Adventures also has a website.

"Trust"
18 x 24" Pastel by Lise LeBlanc

There's something about the eye that fascinates me.

"Eyes are the window to the soul" as the saying goes. To me there is something in the expression of a horse, that is not only a window ~ but a mirror . It's impossible to look at a horse and not see the history of servitude which this noble animal has given to the human race. Wars ~ won and lost, civilizations built, miles travelled, sustenance ~ all on the backs of horses.

The reflection is not always nice. To understand what a horse endures at the hands of people, means to look hard at humanity.

I cannot look into a horse's eye and not be moved ~ to inquire deeper into the truth of the animal, my own truth, and that of or my ancestors.

It's this quality that pulls me to my pastels.

Lise M LeBlanc