THE HORSE IN THE HEART Whitespace Gallery, Edinburgh

THE HORSE IN THE HEART
An exhibition of drawings by Diana Hand  

Whitespace Gallery, 25, Howe Street, Edinburgh EH3 6TF

8th October to 13th October, 2016

The Double   ink on paper


A REFLECTION

I have been working all summer towards this exhibition of equestrian drawings.  I love to work very spontaneously and freely, but I would also like more control and understanding over what I do, and to develop a different approach to equestrian art, one that is not purely figurative.  And one which has, to quote previous blog, "a frame of wider reference" than simply my intuitive and immediate responses.

One such wider frame is the study of anatomy, and  for the past year I have been doing different courses - at the Ruskin School of Art in Oxford, at the Glasgow School of Art and with Alan McGowan in Edinburgh.  I have also been to clinics on equine anatomy run by Gillian Higgins at agricultural colleges in Gloucestershire.

I have been re-reading The Artist's Guide to Animal Anatomy by Gottfried Bammes.  I read this book about five years and was drawn to his expressive and free illustrations, but I skipped the anatomical information.  But by now  I know enough to make a deep study of his anatomical and dynamic structural approach, and to understand that this knowledge is the foundation of freer and more imaginative work.

I also used his suggestions about experimenting with different media and letting the medium shape the drawing.  This gave a great sense of movement and energy to start with and then I could explore the anatomy and form in this context.

Running Horses   Watercolour and charcoal on paper

Horse's Head   Watercolour wash and charcoal on paper

Another discovery was the use of a narrative.  Quite by chance I dropped a sheet of tissue paper onto a wet gesso surface.  It was beautiful and delicate and I transferred the marks onto an existing black canvas.

The shapes suggested horses' bodies and movements and the ghostly presence of horses in the distant and near past, inhabiting our psyche as they do for the horse lover.  I made a large more finished piece of this.

These We Have Loved    Charcoal on paper  1370 x 1010

Drawing from One Hundred Horses series

Later I realised that the concept is slightly similar to the "One Hundred Horses" paintings by Guiseppe Castiglione (1688-1766), an Italian Jesuit missionary in China.  I like these paintings because of the depiction of horses "off-duty" by someone who obviously knew them very well and appreciated their interaction with humans too.


This exhibition has been a much more personal "journey" than the previous exhibition earlier in the year.  I did have a system to work from and help me expand my references and knowledge, but the subject matter tended to take its own course and chance threw up new perspectives and meaning!  

Bring it on!