Excited about the upcoming races in Dubai? Admire this equine exhibition on Yas Island.
As of January 31, according to the Chinese zodiac, it has been the year of the horse. This beautiful beast is said to be a sign of energy, volatility and impulsiveness. People who are born in the year of the horse, according to The Practical Encyclopedia of Feng Shui, are often active, good at multi-tasking, confident and ambitious. Indeed, the personalities reflect the characteristics of horses – strong, energetic and hardworking.
An exhibition at Yas Viceroy honours this symbolic animal through the work of Paddy Lennon, an Irish artist. From now until April 5, Yas Viceroy will be showing 11 drawings from Paddy’s collection of realistic horse portraits, as well as six landscape paintings. TOAD sits down with the equine artist…
Why the particular interest in horses?
People have been drawing and painting horses for at least 30,000 years, evidenced by the incredible horse paintings in the caves of Chauvet in France. Obviously the horse was central to their survival, beliefs and dreams. Even after all this time, although horses are not as essential as they once were, they still impact on our lives. I live on a stud farm, where livestock is kept for breeding. My wife keeps horses and I own one myself. I ride every day and get along well with the animals. I spend a great deal of my time looking at, talking about and listening to others talk about horses. I find I have to have an interest in or a connection to my subject in order for my work to be successful.
Are there any other subjects you like to draw?
I draw anything that grabs my fancy. That could be a still life, an interesting building or a portrait. The horse drawings tend to dominate my studio time as there is more demand for them. They take so long to create that there really isn’t a lot of time to develop other subject matter. Some years back I did quite a bit of portrait work and that was successful. For now, however, it’s the horses and my painting.
Drawing is usually a preliminary stage for artists. How did you come to focus on this discipline?
I’ve always drawn, since I was a kid when I drew endlessly. However, when I discovered charcoal, it opened up so many possibilities for the images I was drawing. It’s a powerful medium and a lovely tool to work with. Drawing is demanding. It’s not very forgiving. You either draw well or badly. It demands discipline and I like that. It keeps me on my toes.
Have you always wanted to be an artist?
Always! I’m a bit of a dreamer. I can’t think of any other profession that would have me.
Were you trained in other disciplines or did you go straight to drawing?
I trained in printmaking, painting and mechanical drawing. Drawing is the backbone of painting and printing.
How long does it take you to finish a drawing?
My works are fairly large – usually around three to four feet – and require a fair amount of time. There is a lot of preparation involved and I am demanding on myself in terms of standards. The whole process can
take anything from a couple of days to several weeks.
Talk us through your artistic process…
It can be hard to depict an animal well. To begin with I have to have some idea of a composition, the way I lay out the subject on the page. I will have a horse in mind and a pose that I find interesting. It doesn’t have to be complex. I then set up the scene and look at the horse, and wait for him to relax and get used to his surroundings. I have to be quiet and take my time while I watch and take photos. If I’m lucky and it works out, I’ll print the photos that closely correspond to my initial idea and start drawing from those. I’m lucky in that I have all the reference material I need right on my doorstep and, if necessary, I will go to a stable and look at some part of the horse that was causing me problems. I like to spend time with the horses and get to know them a bit.
How do you make your drawings so rich and lifelike?
I have been drawing for so long that I can look at a photo and transfer it to paper or board and be confident in my precision. Mostly in the initial stages of my drawing I’m covering a board in black charcoal. After that it’s almost a process of removal through erasing. A kind of reverse of the normal drawing process .This helps me to build depth and stops the work from looking flat. From that point on it’s a case of getting things right and correcting errors until I feel everything is where it should be.
All work is on sale from Dhs15,000. See Paddy Lennon’s exhibition, Year of the Horse, at Yas Viceroy now until April 5, 10am-10pm, Yas Island, www.viceroyhotelsandresorts.com (02 656 0000).
