Duke the Great Dane. I had a call from a lady who had seen my horse paintings in the Flora Lou window and wanted a similar portrait of her dog. I went to meet her and the dog last week, he is such a poppet. It's nice to do something a little different and I hope more work will come from it, but he really is just a small horse.

Some of the images that have resulted from the commission of Duke the Great Dane. I really love these images, maybe the possibility of a narrative coming along.

Three more horses that have gone into the shop this week. The brown horse is a bit of an experiment to see if it sells. I'm quite pleased with it, and it reminds me a bit of George Stubbs' work. The other two white ones are based on the horses of the Spanish Riding School.

I have recently been researching into the Spanish Riding School as a possibility for a future project, and had forgotten how incredible it is to watch. I've never seen it in real life but it's definitely on the 'to do' list. They are great fun to draw and and really defy gravity. This video is a great capture of some of the 'Airs Above the Ground' that the older horses perform.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoPG5KZTay4&feature=related