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Kentucky Derby Week - David+Austin


David+Austin, 36" x 48", acrylics on panel, $3925 with free shipping, available through UGallery. 

It's Derby Week!! In the past, as the days before The Kentucky Derby approached, I would busy myself with daily paintings of race horses and equines. However, in 2015, my Derby Week experience was the penultimate dream - I spent it in Louisville, being feted as the Official Artist of the Kentucky Derby. The entire year was a marvelous opportunity, from the out-of-the-blue phone call offering me the project, to months of research and painting surreptitiously, to the reveal party at Churchill the November prior, then a presentation at the Kentucky Derby Museum during their birthday gala in April, and finally experiencing Derby Week first hand as a special guest. I will always be grateful to the powers that be for delivering the best project at the best moment in my life - Clare and Pat, you have special spots in my heart.

Here's the link to a photo essay of my journey.

The full 2015 Kentucky Derby painting is depicted below; Kentucky Oaks posters (the far left hand side of the composition), Kentucky Derby posters (the remaining 2/3rds of the composition), and artist prints (the entire image) remain available through Horse and Hound.

The notoriety that came with being The Kentucky Derby artist allowed me to reduce my overall commission load so as to focus on growing my own skills. I spent the following years studying with some remarkable artists (Vianna Szabo, Stanka Kordic, Lisa Daria Kennedy, Carla Sonheim, Lynn Whipple and Ardith Goodwin are just a few). I came to an understanding why the horse has always been my muse, defined a visual vocabulary that more adequately expressed that connection, and began painting imagery birthed from deep inside myself.

David+Austin is one of those paintings from that glorious time frame. It resonates with love, respect, heritage, acceptance and simple joy. And, of course, there is a nod to my Kentucky Derby roots with those luscious roses. It will be an absolutely stunning focal point in your home or office. Again, it is available through UGallery with free shipping (a marvelous deal given it's size!).

I can't wait to share more outstanding equine paintings with you this week.

Meanwhile, who is your Derby pick?

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