White Horse

Horses are brilliant subjects to draw. There is so much power and grace in them and getting that combination right is what makes it exciting.

I used pastels and pastel pencils for this white horse study. White animals are surprisingly tricky because they are never actually white — you are really painting all the shadows and reflections in blues and greys and subtle purples. The mane was my favourite part, building up the flowing hair strand by strand.

I find pastels give that lovely velvety quality that suits the softness of a horse really well.