Iberian Horsemen

Breathing a sigh of relief , I stand back to assess the row of drying prints .... the result of a morning running at maximum power, but I am pleased with the results of the new limited edition of classical Iberian horsemen. They threw up a few testing problems, as I wanted to keep the image clear and iconic  (a busier subject can often be, surprisingly, more straightforward) and was so happy to be working with my old cast iron press which gave me a denser ink surface. I used Zerkall rag paper rather than my often favoured Tosa Washi or Shoji paper which works so well with the bamboo baren. 


In these designs I wanted to capture the beauty and romance that I saw in these riders, to encapsulate the  dedication and quietude  of being totally in touch with oneself and ones horse. I wanted to prevent them becoming esoteric, and to be simply pleasing to the eye for anyone who looked at them, and whilst having that quality of early drawings of classical horsemanship, I wanted to give them a modern feel, making them relevant to today. 

I have a special love of Classical riding since being introduced to it in the early 80's when I bought my first wonderful Lusitano horse from Lord and Lady Loch at their beautiful Stoke by Clare School in Suffolk.
I was fortunate to be able to visit often and ride at their school for the next few years, and went on to keep my own Lusitanos.. a stallion, a gelding and 2 lovely mares. Thrilled that one or two of the foals I bred are still out there. 
                                                                                                                                     Warm wishes, Gloria.

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