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KENTUCKY DERBY WEEK The Torch Bearer

 

"The Torch Bearer," full painting and detail images above, 16" x 20", acrylics on panel, $649 plus s&h to the first asking nicely. Please note that the watermark is not on the original painting. Returning collectors always receive 10% off. I accept Paypal, personal checks and payment plans. Feel free to directly message me with your inquiries.

Kentucky Derby Week was always a holiday in my mind. When I was a kid, my butterflies grew with each day, as I eagerly anticipated a rare afternoon of televised horse racing. It became even more of a special event when I was honored as the official artist of the 2015 Kentucky Derby (yes, the same year that American Pharoah swept the Triple Crown). I continue to mark this week by losing myself in all things equine, as the race approaches and the pagaentry builds.

"The Torch Bearer" carries much significance to me. The reference photos came from a visit to Win Star Farms in Lexington just a few days before American Pharoah's victory. There was such pride in the history of the farm and the promise of the future. It was tangible and contagious. 

This particular painting (from the photos I took that afternoon) is also a commentary on my own life, as I completed it when my youngest child graduated high school. She was manifesting her own dreams, and it was both amazing and bittersweet to watch her set sail.

And now I look at the piece and see the beginnings of my fractured forms, breaking the horse into jeweled fragments that are now a trademark of my signature style. In the context of the pandemic, political uncertainty and social unrest, and all that was reined in, brutally revealed or put on hold this last year, there remains plenty of magic and promise for a new future.

This painting recently came home after her own travels out into the world, via exhibitions and a gallery stint. She's ready to settle in and retire. Let me know if it's going to be with you!

Thanks for following along on my painting journey.
Be well,
Fondly, Kim

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