Drawing, especially portraits of horses, has been one of my passions since early childhood. Born and raised in Germany, I spent endless hours at home, in school, at art classes and later with a variety of personal teachers, improving my skills, if I was not sitting on a horse, that is. Not until I started using colored pastels in my early 30's, I also began to accept commissions for portraits.
For many years, I was fine tuning the art of combining multiple photos of people, animals and landscapes to harmoniously merge in one painting. My workmanship gradually grew and expanded from producing mere representation of what is visible to the eye to feeling, embracing and magically expressing the very soul of the subjects being portrayed.
Since moving to the Black Hills of South Dakota in 1995, I created several portraits of our horses, especially my favorite Spanish Mustangs. Descendents of the famous war horses of the Spanish Conquistadors, they were treasured by the Native American tribes and made the early pony express rides and cattle drives possible, due to their hardiness and endurance. I simply love this breed for their smooth gates, surefootedness, intelligence and willingness to bond with us humans.
In 2007, I was inspired to reach for another level of skill, in the form of an order for a very different custom portrait - an ascended spiritual teacher. History knows him as the Count de St. Germain, the "Wonder Man" of Europe. No known portraits of him exist from that time. The painting was to portray the Master in his favored robe and colors as well as to include ancient symbols of Earth and Spiritual Growth.
More about me and my works at http://www.paintingsbyisa.com