What is the Secret to Horse Painting with Realism?

An artist’s first encounter with equestrian art may produce a stuffed-looking horse, with hair and mane that appear too perfect or stiff and eyes that look lifeless. In other cases, the artist may struggle with the horse’s elongated features, leaving an empty space between the eyes and snout. How does the artist paint horses convincingly?

Common Problems with Painting Horses

How to Paint Horse Portraits
Rachel Shirley

Horse portraiture may simply require practice, as pet and human portraiture occur more frequently. However, addressing the culprits of a poor horse painting is a good way forward. It may be any of the following:

Making idealised assumptions about how a horse “should” look and allowing this to interfere with observation. For example: assuming all four legs must be visible; the mane always runs like a fringe along the neck; all horses have long teeth; the snout is always black; both nostrils are visible and identical; all brown horses are chestnut, etc.

• Using poor photographic reference, forcing guesswork and allowing assumptions to fill gaps.
• Using only white for eyeballs and teeth.
• Illustrating hair with uniform linear strokes from a thin brush.
• Using premixed pigments (brown, black, beige, white) for multiple elements of the horse.
• Leaving blank areas between features (eyes to snout, eyes to ears), resulting in a flat, two‑dimensional horse.

Producing Great Horse Artwork

Horse features contain complex contours — valleys, ridges and textures from sinews, muscles and tendons. Illustrating these tonally creates a three‑dimensional impression and prevents the horse from looking flat.

• Not every contour appears as a line. Many consist of subtle shifts in tone and colour. Half‑close the eyes to simplify shapes and work from simple to complex. Stand back periodically.
• Look for reflected light on the horse’s face — shaded areas illuminated by nearby surfaces.
• Eyes, snout, hair and ears should not be outlined. Close observation reveals rims, tucks, shadows and undulating flesh.
• The horse palette may include unexpected colours — blue, violet, crimson. Highlights may contain ultramarine; hair may contain maroons; shadows over teeth may require earth colours or blue.

Art Techniques for Equestrian Painting

Many oil painting techniques suit equine art, from impasto to alla prima. To achieve realism, paint onto a toned ground (imprimatura) rather than white. A thin wash of acrylic (blue or brown) helps judge tones more accurately.

Sketch the horse precisely or the painting will be ruined. Paint large areas first, then detail. Soft sable brushes are vital for blending and glazing. Fine brushes (sizes 3 or 6) suit detail such as eyelashes and highlights. Wide soft brushes (size 9+) are ideal for blending around the mane and nose. Linseed oil can thin paint for detail or glazes.

Work from dark to light — render dark colours first, then finish with highlights on the coat, eyes, ears and moisture around the snout.

Oil Colours for Horse Art

Numerous earth colours are unnecessary and may cause dull mixes. Useful pigments include burnt sienna, burnt umber, French ultramarine, pthalo blue, permanent rose, cadmium red and white.

Links Relating to Animal Painting

• How to draw a horse