Anyone who has showed knows the stress and excitement of it. Here, the rider is composed, waiting in a line to be judged. He is watching the judge make his way around. I positioned him slightly high in the picture to create a sense of nervous isolation. It is just you and the horse, and sometimes, it feels like it’s all about you and the state you are in before and while you ride. As …

I liked painting this so much the first time, I decided I’d do it again. Unfortunately, this was a model from W magazine, so, like yesterday’s painting, I don’t know who it is, and thus can’t tell him he now has two portraits painted of him in addition to being on my business card and the header for this blog! Miraculously, I found a way to photograph it without too much glare: