Sandra Beaulieu - Art on Horseback Featured in the Sun Journal Newspaper

Lovely article about our (Sandra Beaulieu & Rovandio) live art performance at the Healing Through Horses professional expo in New Gloucester, ME. The beautiful photos were taken by reporter Daryn Slover for the Sun Journal. This was our first outing with the new easel my husband built for me. I was very pleased! It is almost 9 feet tall but much easier to transport than my other easel, which I had to leave behind in Florida. 

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

Photo Credit: Daryn Slover of the Sun Journal Newspaper
Art on Horseback with Sandra Beaulieu and Rovandio

Rovandio was a rockstar as usual. He is the most reliable performance horse I have ever ridden. He knows when he has an audience and completely tunes into me. I don't have to worry about him getting nervous like I do with Douwe. 

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Photo Credit: Daryn Slover of the Sun Journal Newspaper
Sarah Kaech, Taylor Burdin, and artist Sandra Beaulieu

The finished painting is available to purchase, with 100% of the purchase price going to Healing Through Horses. Healing Through Horses is a 501c3, oranization offering counseling services that involve Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) in New Gloucester, Maine. Their mission is to help individuals, families and groups overcome life’s challenges by safely partnering with the gentle disposition and compassionate power of horses. Email me at beginthedance@gmail.com if you are interested in this painting. 

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

Sandra beaulieu and taylor burdin hold the finished painting before it is signed.

My Top 5 Favorite Equine Artists

Lydia Rose Spencer

Not only is Lydia one of my close friends she is an amazing artist that I have watched develop her talents over the years. She works with all mediums, particularly acrylic, oil, and watercolor. She also paints beautiful people and pet portraits and has a unique ability to capture the essence of her subject. She is also an accomplished dressage rider and dancer (you can see her dance with Douwe & Rovandio in the video gallery). Here is a little blurb from Lydia's about page: "My art focuses mainly on portraiture of people and animals, I have always been drawn to faces because they are so complex in their ability to tell a story, human and animal. I love painting because it shows us the beauty in everyday life from the perspective of the artist." -Lydia Rose

Join Lydia on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LydiaRoseArt
Visit Lydia's website: http://lydiarosefineart.com/

Tony O'Connor

I am drawn to Tony's paintings because he does an excellent job at capturing the drama and emotion of each subject. He uses plain black backgrounds and also paints on linen (shown below). He has the ability to draw you into each painting and really feel the emotions of the horse. He is fun to follow on Facebook and posts quotes with his art that are nice to share. He also does an amazing job with other animals like deer/elk, dogs and people. I hope to meet him someday and see his art in person.

Follow Tony on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tony-O-Connor-Equine-Art/275031255420
Visit Tony's website: http://www.whitetreestudio.ie/

Elise Genest

I have been in love with Elise's work ever since I saw her booth at a dressage show many, many years ago. I love her style and how she can make the horse appear to leap off the canvas! She paints a lot of spanish-type horses which I love and sometimes uses poetry to add emotion. I have only seen her paint horses but she has so many paintings I can't even count them all! I am a big fan of using drips and raw edges with paint which she is able to do so perfectly. She is truly a unique artist and I know so many people that have said they wished they could paint like her!

Follow Elise on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Elise-Genest-Arts-Chevaux/353785052785
Visit her website: http://www.elisegenest.com/

Morgan Cameron

I have known Morgan since she was quite young and learning to ride horses. I used to teach her lessons at Isaac Royal Farm many years ago and I love how she has blossomed as an artist. Besides horses she also paints other animals like ravens, foxes and owls. Her work is always evolving as she develops her style and finds her niche. “These subjects are so deeply routed within my past and soul. Even though each piece can be vastly different, they still relate to one another through their own roots. I want to resonate the emotion I get when I see, smell and feel these subjects in person to other viewers, as if they too had been present. I wish to create a sense of sentimental and nostalgic meaning within my work, and to one day capture the beauty in subjects that may otherwise have been passed by in person.” -Morgan Cameron

Follow Morgan on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/morgancameronart
Visit her website: http://morgancameron.wix.com/morgancameronart

Jache Studio

The artist behind Jache Studio is Jennifer Brandon. She is an accomplished artist that has her own unique style. I have seen her at the Equine Affaire for many years and have always admired her loose, energetic style. Her artwork has been featured on the cover of the Equine Affaire program along with many other accomplishments. She is also fabulous at painting dogs, landscapes, and people. I love seeing her paintings in progress on her Facebook page, particularly when she works on a large canvas.

Follow her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JacheStudio
Visit her website: http://www.jachestudio.com/

First Art on Horseback Painting

In 2012 I was inspired with an idea. Could I blend my riding skills and art skills together? Could I actually create a painting while I was riding a horse? It was in my mind for about two years before I tried it. It took that long to work out the logistics, how to hang the painting, what size to use, what types of brushes, tack for my horse, etc. I practiced with a few other canvases and this is my first official piece, "Prancing Water Horse":

This painting will always hold a special place in my heart. <3

This painting is made of two 36"x48" canvases to make a full 4'x6' canvas. The background was created with a paint roller at the trot and canter, using the movements of the horse to help mix the colors. I rubbed the paint onto the canvas directly with my hands and created the drips with a water bottle. I let the canvas dry and turned it upside-down before I painted the horse. My painting partner, Lipizzan/Andalusian gelding, Rovandio, and I had to work together in the collected movements so that I could paint while remaining in motion. We used piaffe, Spanish walk, collected canter, and rein-back. This painting is an expression of my passion for the art of riding. Please help me share my story so that I can help inspire others to turn their dreams into reality.

Click here to see more photos of the painting.
OR
Click here to visit the official Art on Horseback page.

Sandra Beaulieu Painting on Horseback

"In the zen of the moment
living, breathing art
brush stroke upon brush stroke
hoofbeat upon hoofbeat.
The horse forms the artist
the artist forms the horse
flowing, living, breathing art."
                              -Bethanne Ragaglia

Two years ago I was inspired with an idea... a way to combine my two passions, dressage & art. I wondered if it was possible to create a painting from the back of a horse. Hard work, creativity and patience brought my dream into reality! It is so amazing to see the results of a vision come to life. I hope that my journey will inspire others to follow their dreams. This video was made by a small group of amazing interns at the Innovation Center run by the University of Maine. Thank you to Matthew Bullard, Christine Le, Courtney Norman and Jacob Pelkey for their hard work and enthusiasm!

Related Art on Horseback Videos:

Painting for Have a Heart Fundraiser to benefit Triple R Horse Rescue: To learn more about this painting, click here.

Creating a commissioned painting, "Nicole's Dream". To request a commission, email: beginthedance@gmail.com

Originals and more information available at ArtonHorseback.com

(or click the image below)

Art on Horseback - First Day Painting on Horseback!

What an exciting day! In 2012 I was inspired with an idea- a way to combine my two passions, dressage & art, into one. The first painting from horseback day I wanted to get Rovandio, a Lipizzan/Andalusian gelding owned by my mother-in-law, used to the hanging canvas, the table of paints, and the idea of going back and forth in front of the canvas. In addition to basic walk, trot, and canter I also use the piaffe and rein-back to work on the canvas. Rovandio is well-suited for this project because he is compact, smooth to ride, and sensitive. My Friesian gelding, Douwe's stride is too big and he isn't fine-tuned enough for me to do this.

I will be starting my first real painting soon and will be taking plenty of photos & video of the process to share with everyone. I am so excited to bring my vision into reality!

Practicing my brushstrokes while Rovandio does the piaffe.

Working on my technique with Rovandio at the Spanish walk.

Done for our first day!!! Can't wait for my next painting session!

2011 Equine Affaire - Begin the Dance with Sandra Beaulieu - Face Painting

I thought it would be a great addition to my booth to offer artistic face painting. I was really busy on Friday and Saturday; I painted a total of 165 faces over the weekend! Luckily it wasn't too busy on Sunday so I was able to take a break and visit nearby booths. I really like painting on skin because it has a texture that makes it easy to blend the paints. I started each day painting my own face using a hand held mirror. That attracted attention as people would stop and watch, commenting on how difficult it must be to paint the image backwards. I had a lot of fun and it was well worth the effort to see all the kids' smiling faces! :)

Dressage horse with polo wraps.

This young girl wanted the same horse I had on my face.

Jumpers are fun because the kids can pick out what color they want on the poles.

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The last day I got all fancy and did a quadrille on my face.

Check Out My Art on Horseback:

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