The sketch was originally intended to stand alone and I called it something generic like “Pony in Motion.” Later I grew bored with the plain graphite image. I wanted a more dramatic background, some color, and I wanted to play with acrylics. After some collage work, I mixed up a bunch of paint and carried everything out in the front yard.

My two boys were hopping around like fleas in their excitement over me being outside with cups of paint. They’d never seen me splash paint on a canvas before. Not that I hadn’t done it a thousand times already with watercolors, but that was mostly before they were born. So I splashed and flicked and poked and splattered to the tune of “Can I do it??!! Can I do it??!! Can I do it??!!” Not that they hadn’t done it a thousand times before with finger paint and watercolors, but this was different – this was Mommy’s “‘spensive paint”.

So I let them each flick some paint on with a large brush, and they were somewhat satisfied. What they really wanted to do was fling the paint at each other. I was more satisfied after gluing the graphite pony on and adding a coat or two of varnish. Valraven was fun to do, and I believe more fun to look at than a plain graphite pony.

adult coloring Art art appreciation art connoisseur color Coloring coloring books drawing eighteen wheelers equine equine art horse horse art horses truckers trucks