Project 18: Friesian Stallion

The subject of this drawing was a Friesian stallion named Frieske, who was at the Kentucky Horse Park. The people who work at the park were very kind, giving me a private showing of this amazing horse. It was a real thrill to watch Frieske walk, trot and gallop around the field, his luxurious mane and tail flying in the wind. Several paintings and drawings have resulted from that visit.

Reference Photo

1 Establish the Form

Draw or trace the image onto bristol paper with a no. 2 pencil. With a sharpened ebony pencil, lightly go over the lines and begin to shade in the darkest areas. Use parallel strokes that follow the horse’s contours.

2 Shade in More Dark Areas

Continue to shade in the darkest areas with parallel strokes. Darken gradually, using crosshatching. Begin to block out the boundaries of the darker areas with light, parallel strokes.

3 Shade the Dark and Middle Values

Keep shading the dark areas and begin to transition to some of the midvalue areas. Use a stump to blend, stroking in the same direction as the pencil lines.

4 Continue Shading the Horse’s Coat and Add Detail to the Mane and Tail

Finish defining the boundaries of the major areas of light and dark values in the coat. Sketch the shapes of the locks of hair in the mane and tail with flowing lines. Continue to darken the shadowed parts of the horse’s coat.

AMAZING TROTTER

Ebony pencil on bristol paper

8” × 12” (20cm × 30cm)

5 Finish the Drawing

Finish darkening the belly, neck, legs and hindquarters, using crosshatching and blending with a stump. Darken and add detail to the mane and tail. Use a kneaded eraser to lighten dark areas or to make corrections. Draw more lines in the tail with sweeping, curved strokes. Draw the horse’s shadow with short, sketchy, slanted strokes. Blend with a stump.