WWindhorses

"Fly By" 18" by 24" oil on board. When my cousin and I were in our teens we rode horses from sunrise to sunset over gravel country roads and through hay and corn fields. This painting didn't start out with this memory in mind. But yesterday as I was scanning it I remembered those hot summer days. We had a horse named Beauty, a big bay mare with a heart of gold. We road her double and bareback, usually me in front and her behind with her hands around my waist. When the corn was about knee high, we would take Beauty into the corn field and gallop up and down the rows. We were pretty good about not knocking down the corn and stayed between the rows. The field was hilly and there were a few times I didn't warn my cousin that I was about to give Beauty my heels and urge her into a gallop. She never fell off, we were both glued to the back of the big bay mare, having the time of our lives. The corn rows and the long leaves of the corn in this painting brought that back to me. Pretty close to flying.