In early May, I had the absolute pleasure and privilege to take the Horse Painting Workshop with Jill Soukup at the Zapata Ranch. Living in Northwest Colorado, horses are an integral part of both the culture and the landscape. I have included many horses in my work, but I felt it was time to bring it up a notch. Boy, did I choose well!
The Medano-Zapata Ranch is owned by The Nature Conservancy and managed by Ranchlands in a partnership model that emphasizes environmental conservation practices. Located on the eastern edge of the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado, the ranch borders the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. Home to a conservation herd of bison that run in a single 50,000 acre pasture, the ranch also runs a herd of Angus mother cows.
My room was located near the main lodge, in the homestead that was built in the 1880’s. It was incredibly comfortable and the food was amazing. Ironically, we hardly spent any time in our lovely rooms. We rose at 6 am and didn’t get to bed until 9 pm. Jill kept us busy painting the horses by the stables, learning in the workshop space, and eating meals together. It was a happy-tired.
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- My beautiful room, all to myself!
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- I love the tub!
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- I was so thrilled to see one of my early mentors’ paintings in the main lodge. Joan Hoffmann is the mom of one of my best friends and her career was always an inspiration to me. The last time I was at the Zapata Ranch was with Joan during a Plein Air workshop… way back in 2001~
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- We spent three meals a day here, connecting with both our group of artists, but also the wonderful other guests at the ranch.
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- It was early May and the snow was still deep up in the Sangre de Christos!
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- A brief moment of warmth and calm to enjoy the deck.
Besides the perfect accommodations and beautiful landscape, Jill created an incredible curriculum. She is a true professional with killer skills and deep intuition when it comes to painting and horses. Her communication was superb and her preparation must have taken months. Each day, we focused on a different way to approach painting horses, building upon our skills from the previous lesson. At night, she lectured for almost two hours, gathering examples of paintings – both known and obscure, personal or old masters, to illustrate her concepts.
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- First marks on paper – quick gestures without any instruction
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- Jill expertly explaining the skeletal structure with help of both models and drawings on a live horse
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- My second session of gesture drawings went better after Jill’s explanation
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- And then I got to draw the skeleton on a live horse! He was very patient. It was so cold that day, all I wanted to do was curl up and cuddle
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- More gesture drawings
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- A final gesture exercise using ink
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- I found it so helpful to see the bones while I was drawing the gesture of the horse
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- In the afternoon, we practiced the “blind contour” slowing our pace significantly from the fast movements of the morning
The second day started at first light. Each morning, the wranglers bring the herd into the corral from their large pastures on the alluvial plane. It was poetic to see 50+ horses moving in unison to start the day. Jill introduced the concept of form, using a Styrofoam model followed by clay. It was incredible how my drawings progressed throughout the exercises, clearly showing a deepening understanding of anatomy.
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- An early start to the day among the herd
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- Sketching the forms of the model
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- The model Jill created
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- Using the ideas of the model when sketching real horses
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- My turn to create a model. It was so incredible to literally make light and shadow by moving the clay. I think I’m hooked!
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- It was so fun to move around the horse and create the model from all angles
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- After having sculpted with clay, it was so much easier to draw the forms on a 2-D surface again
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- Getting some insight about the forms of the horse. I wish I had another week to explore these concepts with clay and pencil
The third day was finally approaching my favorite: color! Jill had an excellent lecture about color the night before. I woke early again to do a quick plein air sketch of the mountains and pastures. I hope you will be seeing a painting from that study someday soon! The weather was a little warmer with less wind, and we were able to set up our easels at the corral. Now, I think I need a horse and a high line. Ha!
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- A painted sketch
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- In my happy place, in front of my easel
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- Another study, trying to clarify the head (more work to come on that)
The afternoon of the third day also included an in-depth study of a horse skull. Having the real thing in front of me helped a lot. I also had the instructive book, “Animal Painting and Anatomy” by W. Frank Calderon. Of course, I ordered it (and many more) after the workshop. There were many details that will help me in the future.
Besides the in-depth content that Jill provided, I have to say it was the people that really made this experience special. Isn’t that always the case? Here’s a group photo. Every artist in the group brought a unique set of gifts and goals that deepened our connections and made the week an absolute joy.
