"Circle of Vision" image size 18"x18" - acrylic on cradled board
My second acrylic painting...
I began this piece intending to paint with the color palette I use with my pastels, using a photo as reference that I took at Mustangs in Motion 2 years ago. At the risk of sounding crazy, as I worked I was told/compelled to put the circle of paint around the eye, paint stripes along the cheek and jaw, and put feathers pointing down in his hair. The idea of feathers pointing down come to me often while I paint but I have never put them in a painting before.
Afterward when I shared the image with my artist friend Pat, she asked me if I knew what the markings I had painted meant. I didn't but knew I had seen horses with markings in old cowboy movies. I researched the meaning of these markings and found that the circled eye gives the horse keen sight to let him be the first to see the distant buffalo when on a hunt.
And the stripes are actually a fence symbol that was placed on the horse's jaw to help keep him in good luck when hunting. The feathers are eagle feathers, which are symbols of honor and connect the user with the Creator.
Needless to say, I am excited and I have already started a 3rd and 4th painting!
