A Note from Danny Holder
“My goal is to provide you with a quality work of art you can proudly display in any environment. Like people, horses are unique. No two are the same. You would not want a painting of a generic horse that is colored to resemble your horse. You want “your horse”.
The Process – Oils have been the media of choice for portrait paintings for centuries. I start with a high quality blank canvas. Great care is taken at the beginning to lay out the proper dimensions to assure a likeness. At this stage, the head and background are blocked in. Once the canvas is completely covered, my attention returns to the subject. The horse’s head must leap forward from the background to give depth to the painting. Without it, the painting will look flat and uninteresting. My intention is for the viewer’s eye to casually move about the painting, but return to the horse’s face, and, more importantly, the eye. The color of a horse is of utmost importance in capturing his or her likeness. A glazing technique is used used to bring unity to the painting and to finalize the overall color. I use the time honored technique of lost and found edges to bring life to your painting. If all the edges were the same, the image would take on an amateurish quality. At this stage, I give attention to the details. Such things as veins, jaw line, nostrils, mouth, and even the direction of the hair is indicated at this phase of the painting. The entire painting is now revisited and modified as needed. It is only after every aspect of the painting meets my satisfaction, I discretely add my signature.
I want you to be involved in this creative experience and make decisions for your painting. You will be able to choose your horse’s position, pose, size of canvas, framing options, etc. Pricing will naturally vary depending on the options you choose. If you are not comfortable taking the reference photos yourself, I will give you assistance in how to set up your photo sessions as well as lighting, angle, etc. I can also work with your photographer in taking these pictures. Once the painting is completed, it will be varnished to assure protection and longevity. It will then be carefully packed and shipped to you per your instructions. If you like, you can pick up your work of art from my studio.
Satisfaction Guarantee – When your painting is nearing the completed stage, I will send you multiple photos of your painting for your approval. Upon your satisfaction, you will be billed and the painting will be shipped to you as soon as the paint is dry. Keep in mind, oil paint dries more slowly than a water-based medium. The reason I can offer you this unprecedented guarantee is because I feel confident in providing you with a quality product you will enjoy for years to come. I’ve had no rejections to date.”