"Legend III: The Godolphin Arabian"
new for 2008!
"Legend III: The Godolphin Arabian", 2008. 19" by 23". Charcoal and Conte crayon on Canson Mi-Teintes, the smooth side.
The newest addition to my "Legend" series was inspired by the great Godolphin Arabian.
One of the three founding sires of the thoroughbred breed, the Godolphin Arabian was a sturdy and speedy little horse that possessed amazing endurance and beauty.
He was also the subject of Marguerite Henry's wonderful award-winning book, King of the Wind; a favorite book of mine. Wesley Dennis' fantastic drawings in the book show the Godolphin Arabian in all of his arch-necked glory. He must have been a truly amazing horse...
I am an equine history lover, and the Godolphin Arabian has long fascinated me. For this drawing, I thought of what he could have looked like with a strong wind tousling his mane and forelock. This stallion must have always looked confident; strong and with that unmistakable Arabian beauty and refinement. He must have known how special he was. I gave him a muscled neck, a large, flared nostril and wide and observant eye ringed with white. Having this magnificent animal as my muse for this piece was a thrill!
Note: The muse for my first two "Legend" works was the legendary racehorse Man O' War: go ten generations back in Man O' War's pedigree and you will find the mighty Godolphin Arabian.
Please e-mail me at soundthebuglestudio (at) charter.net if you would like to add this to your collection.
posted by Sound the Bugle Studio @ 3:03 PM
2 Comments:
A post after my own heart, Helen! I, too, loved Marguerite Henry's books and I was thrilled when my first horse, a grand-daughter of Buckpasser, traced back through Man o' War to Matchem and thus the Godolphin Arabian! I was just mentioning it on my new blog that I'm dedicating to TB art, canadianthoroughbredart.wordpress.com (sorry, that's not meant for anything but relevance to your post!)
Linda, so great to see you here! :)
I'm going to head over to your new blog and check it out..(I'm sure it's amazing--your art is fantastic!)
I think I will do a Darley Arabian one next. He was such a beauty.
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