Red Gold

Oops, forgot to show my new piece, Red Gold!

This is a perlino horse. It was insanely tricky finding the right colors among my colored pencils, but I think I did an okay job! :)

Colored pencils on mixed media paper. 8 x 10 inches.

Champagne

A champagne buckskin, done last December when I was really into marker pieces, as well as researching unusual colors. :)

Alcohol markers and ink on marker paper. Approx. 4 x 6 inches.

Golden One

A palomino horse. I had a lot of fun blending the colors.

Alcohol markers and ink on marker paper. Approx. 6 × 8 inches.

Striped

I love unusual colors on animals. Here is a horse with a gray bridle coat. I also decided to make one hoof lighter than the rest, inspired by Black Beauty’s noted light hoof. (It's a favorite book of mine.)

Alcohol markers and ink on marker paper. Approx. 6 × 8 inches. 

Blood

A gray Arabian horse with a “blood mark.” Also known as a “bloody shoulder” (although it can appear on several parts of a horse’s body), this unusual marking has a famous legend behind it. A great bedouin chief had a magnificent mare that he prized above all horses. Once he was out riding with this mare when he was attacked by bandits. Despite being heavily pregnant, the mare valiantly tried to carry her rider to safety, but it was in vain; he was shot in the heart. Nevertheless, his horse carried his body back to his tribe, with his lifeblood staining her shoulder reddish-brown. When her foal was born, he too carried the blood-red mark on his shoulder. Their descendants continue to bear this marking.

Alcohol markers and ink on marker paper. Approx. 7 x 10 inches. © Mary DeMauro 2015

Mosaic

While playing Horse Isle 2 I encountered horses with this incredible coloring. I looked it up online and was amazed that it was real: “mosaic” coloring is a real thing for horses! Here are some examples:

Mosaic Horse 1

Mosaic Horse 2 

Mosaic Horse 3

Mosaic Horse 4

 So, here’s my illustration of a mosaic horse. At the time I had done this it had been awhile since I had used fineliner pens and Copic markers, so I chose ink and markers as the media for this piece.

Alcohol markers and ink on mixed media paper, approx. 7 x 5.5 inches.