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The Lobster

Fri, 03 Nov 2023 15:30:17 GMT

Island Women - The Lobster

In March of this year, I’d been teaching an art class in Chambers St Museum, studying the section on the witch trials during James I and VI’s reign.

Later in the day, I went down to an exhibition of women in art and film in the City Arts Centre.

One of the photographers was Margaret Fay Shaw, an American musician who had travelled to the Hebrides in 1929 to listen to, and document, the songs and lore of the Islands.

She bided with Mairi (1883 – 1972) and Peigi Macrae (1874 – 1969) in their wee croft at North Glendale, South Uist for six years.

I was mesmerised by her photos of the Island women and the harsh simplicity of their lives, pretty much unchanged for centuries. A big part of their lives was spinning, dying and weaving wool. Brooms, cats, cauldrons, singing (chanting), herbs to heal (potions) and gossiping were part of their fabric of life. The parallels with how witches were depicted were chilling and resonated with me. There’s a part of me that woke up that day, firing this new direction of painting.

I based the initial pieces on different photos, in one Mairi holds up a lobster, and the other a salted cod. Feasts. The photos were black and white and stark. I wanted to tell a story with them, to flesh them with colour, to give them a presence and power that steps across generations. For so long, women were portrayed as objects or possessions of men, yet these women ran their own lives, and I wanted a snapshot of their lives to be seen the way male figures have been portrayed against landscape for centuries.

When I began the first painting, The Fish, I set myself the task of only using materials I had to hand, as an artist in that era would also have done. I used an old frame (63 x 89 cm) from a skip, some linen I had folded away, and sized the fabric with rabbit glue granules from forty years ago at Art College, and it’s stood the test of time and still works!

I work with acrylics on paper palettes, that I originally just threw away when covered with paint. Working on such a big scale, I was using a lot of palettes, and I really liked the effect the dried paint made on them, so I started to keep them. A flash of inspiration had me use them, torn up and stuck down with rabbit glue, for her clothes. I love the lack of control but the gorgeous effect collage gives. Because I was pretty much feeling my way with the piece, I kept changing the background until it felt right. I initially had her against the house with the cod, but it felt wrong, so she has a backdrop of hills and water.

On the cod I used heavy acrylic gel, with onion netting brushed across it then lifted off to create the scale effect, then indulged my love of pearlescent gold paint and made the fish sparkle! The water has silvery pearlescent paint, which glows in a low light, as do her buttons and the cats’ eyes with a pale gold.

I’ve taken proverbs from the book by Margaret Faye Shaw, ‘Folksongs and Folklore of the Outer Hebrides’, that I think fit each painting, and written them in Gaelic along the water.

“Tha miann a’ chait ’san tràch, ‘s cha doire e fhéin as e"

“What the cat wants is on the shore, but he won’t take it out himself”

I started The Lobster (90 x 60 cm) before I’d finished The Fish, as I needed to go back fresh to finish her, it’s easy to get too close to a piece. I took the texture idea further, and used sand from the beach, that I washed clean, and mixed with heavy gel to create the wall of the house.

I had a really bright palette dried and shouting to be used, so her frock is again collage. For each piece I do, I want the colours to be totally different, so in this I indulged my passion for Payne’s Gray.

The cats were painted over several times, I couldn’t get the feel right to begin with. The cat on the bottom left was ginger, but she didn’t fit, so I washed some grey stipes over her, and I like the accidental effect that created. The cat on the right went from grey, to ginger then back to grey again.

The lobster is raised with modelling gel, and also coloured with palette and rabbit glue, with paint on top.

“Cha n-fhan muir ri uallach, ‘s cha dean bean luath maorach”

“The sea does not wait for a burden, and a hasty woman will not get shellfish”

Both these are now finished, and I’m working on a bigger one, with a farmer’s wife leading a horse carrying seaweed up from the beach.

Prints for The Lobster available here;

https://www.jennylupton.com/shopping/THE-LOBSTER-c164879610

The Fish

Fri, 03 Nov 2023 15:28:34 GMT

Island Women - The Fish

In March of this year, I’d been teaching an art class in Chambers St Museum, studying the section on the witch trials during James I and VI’s reign.

Later in the day, I went down to an exhibition of women in art and film in the City Arts Centre.

One of the photographers was Margaret Fay Shaw, an American musician who had travelled to the Hebrides in 1929 to listen to, and document, the songs and lore of the Islands.

She bided with Mairi (1883 – 1972) and Peigi Macrae (1874 – 1969) in their wee croft at North Glendale, South Uist for six years.

I’ve taken proverbs from the book by Margaret Faye Shaw, ‘Folksongs and Folklore of the Outer Hebrides’, that I think fit each painting, and written them in Gaelic along the water.

“Tha miann a’ chait ’san tràch, ‘s cha doire e fhéin as e.

“What the cat wants is on the shore, but he won’t take it out himself”

I started The Lobster before I’d finished The Fish, as I needed to go back fresh to finish her, it’s easy to get too close to a piece. I took the texture idea further, and used sand from the beach, that I washed clean and mixed with heavy gel to create the wall of the house.

The cats were painted over several times, I couldn’t get the feel right to begin with. The cat on the bottom left was ginger, but she didn’t fit, so I washed some grey stripes over her, and I like the accidental effect that created. The cat on the right went from grey, to ginger then back to grey again.

The lobster is raised with modelling gel, and also coloured with palette and rabbit glue, with paint on top.

“Cha n-fhan muir ri uallach, ‘s cha dean bean luath maorach”

“The sea does not wait for a burden, and a hasty woman will not get shellfish”

Both these are now finished, and I’m working on a bigger one, with a farmer’s wife leading a horse carrying seaweed up from the beach.

Prints available here;

https://www.jennylupton.com/shopping/THE-FISH-c164879132

George and Cairnside Ambition

Tue, 27 Jun 2023 16:48:56 GMT

George and Cairnside Ambition

I did this piece back in 2021, and as it was a really emotional piece to do, I haven’t shared it until now.

Cameron and Mary’s son George tragically died in a road accident in his first fortnight at University back in 2018.

Two years on, Cameron commissioned me to do a portrait of George on the horse he shared with Mary, as a surprise for her. We were all systems go when Cameron realised the pic I thought would be best to work from wasn’t the right horse!

I went down to photograph him late in 2020 just as his coat was turning, and it was a bit of high speed effort to grab enough photos without being spotted by Mary, who was out riding. He was also muddy, and wondering what this mad human jumping around his field was doing! But he was a star, put his ears forward and gave me the biggest smile! Then I had to hide in the car when she came back as I was parked by the stables!

Next I had to find a jumping photo, and thanks to social media and a lot of helpful eventing people, I eventually tracked down a good jumping photo to work from, taken by the wonderfully talented Dave Cameron. The photo is of George competing in the U18 Scottish Team at Frickley Park in 2016, and I’m so thankful to Dave for allowing me to work from it.

I’ve done plenty of portraits when I’m trying to get the right look, the feel, for animals that have already passed. Never before for a human, someone I had known a little. Hence I put myself under immense pressure to really capture George, because it was so important to me to do this right, for the Crawfords.

It’s always difficult working from photos of people. Human expressions are more mobile, varied, and often an instant in time that isn’t the feel you want. I had to make the image larger than I normally would, to make sure I got enough space to get the detail right. In the photo, George’s face had such focus and determination, so I tried to make that concentration his expression. I had to keep walking away from it, as it was pretty encompassing and overwhelming at times. Then it suddenly just came right, and I felt him look at me, in itself hugely moving and flooring simultaneously. I’m even feeling it all again as I write this.

For Cairnside Ambition, I wanted to capture his generosity of spirit, his joy at his life. Doesn’t he have the smiliest expression?

Thank you so much to Cameron for trusting me with such a very special commission.

Pastel on Canson Paper

Framed size 35 inches x 30 inches

Onwards and Upwards

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Thu, 10 Nov 2022 13:03:50 GMT

Onwards and Upwards

The fabulous Flash, owned by Cameron and Mary Crawford, ridden by the brilliant event rider Caroline Powell.

I fist saw Flash in 2010 when I went up to Le Lion D'Angers young event horse world championships to catch up with Caroline. He was 12th in his class, he had the most incredible jump, and I'm pretty sure he could been a world class show jumper too. He blew me away. I have some phenomenal photos of him jumping.

I followed him throughout his career, he's one of my most favourite horses that wasn't mine, ever.

His results speak for themselves, his talent was immense, his only limitation was his fragility, and that was brilliantly managed by Caroline and her team. I have so many good memories of him.

This portrait has been four years in the making. Cameron Crawford first approached me at Blair in 2018, and through assorted difficulties it has taken until now to be completed.

The head shot was from ace photographer Nico Morgan, from a trot up at Burghley. The jumping photo I used was from another ace photographer, Libby Law, taken at the corner at Blenheim. To me it totally sums up his joy and exuberance over a fence. I had to wait until she was back in NZ to dig the high resolution copy out, and that happened earlier this year, so finally it was all systems go!

I can't thank Nico and Libby enough for allowing me to use their photographs, and it meant I could do this piece exactly the way I wanted to.

I would be lying if I didn't say I had a sinking moment when I realised it was a sparkly browband, and the ear covers were a little challenging too! I'm also not very good at making Caroline look like Caroline, as a previous portrait I did of her bears testament! I think this one's a bit more like her, especially as I had to alter the expression somewhat!

However, I was more than delighted that my other creation, the fern bumplate , was nice and clear, so HAD to go in!

I feel hugely privileged to have been commissioned to do Flash, so many thanks to Cameron for the commission.

Pastel on Mi teinte touch paper.

20 x 23 inches.

Luna, Harry and Poppy.

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Mon, 17 Oct 2022 17:12:33 GMT

Luna, Harry and Poppy

These three gorgeous horses are living their best life with the Crawfords in Melrose.

The portrait was a surprise for Lucinda, although she had to be in on the act to help me get decent photographs of them.

I t was commissioned at the start of the year, so the horses all had their winter woollies on. It's always tricky working with a winter coat, but usually I make it work, just sometimes the colour differs from a summer coat.

I was sent loads of photos, but none were good enough to work with, so I organised a swift visit down to the borders to photograph before Harry was clipped, as it's more than a little tricky putting a summer coat on a clipped horse. However, the clippers beat me to it, and Harry was clipped when I got there!

It's also tricky arranging horses together when the photos are very different, and also when the angles taken don't quite echo the others. I do loads of photoshopping them together to see which works best, then the final decision rests with the client!

I was worried about the balance using the clipped photo, because it looks different with colour, but I am happy that I made all the head positions work together! I managed to use some summer photos to get Harry's colour right, and I'm pretty chuffed that I successfully invented a summer coat.

This is not something I particularly want to repeat, however!

I just love how they are all such happy smiley people!

No photo of it framed up, because i didn't have time!

Photos I worked from below.

As ever, I'm very flattered to have been entrusted with such a special commission.

Hector Spaniel

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 20:32:39 GMT

Hector (ing) Spaniel

Here's the splendid Hector, glorious Archie's nemesis.

Hector is a busy chap, he's got enough energy to orbit earth, and still have some left over. He's basically a bit of a lad. Possibly my Doberman Zeb in Spaniel clothing! ��

Hector is absolutely gorgeous, with a nanosecond attention span, so there was a lot of following him about the place and trying to get him still enough to grab some shots to work from!

I did end up with a few I could work from, but this one was the best choice.

He also has amazing eyes, and there's a tiny bit of a side eye at me going on in this! ��

The vignette of the pair is the other way round on the mount.

The two boys are hung side by side, and I love how well they work together!

Pastel on Mi Teintes Touch

Archie Horse

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 20:32:37 GMT

This is a subtitle for your new post

How striking is Archie horse? ��

In a past life he was Lord George, the racehorse, and won nearly £100K. Clever boy! ��

When I photographed him, it was incredibly sunny, and often bright light totally bleaches all the markings on greys, so we tried to photograph him in an open barn. He was a bit, erm, busy(!��) so I suggested putting him back in his stable as the light was just about good enough there.

He offered me every expression under the sun, most of which were totally useless for a portrait, but I got one I loved, so we went with that. I've included a photo that made me roar with laughter when I saw it. I've never seen a horse do coy quite like it! So it's been added too, as it might make you smile, on this saddest of days.

I didn't get a decent photo of him framed up, as I was time short on the run up to Land Rover Blair Castle International Horse Trials, so I've attached a close up of the frame from the Blair video, and one of him in situ at home.

I've been using this frame a lot recently, as supply issues mean they keep discontinuing a lot of my 'go to' frames, and this works with a lot of colours of horses. It also works in both traditional and modern settings.

Pastel on Mi Teintes Touch paper.

Louis and Elsa

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 20:32:35 GMT

Loius and Elsa

Last of the borrowed Blair babes!

This gorgeous pair are Louis and Elsa. ��

Safe to say this wasn't one of the smoothest shoots. ��

It was a hot day, they were panting, and totally uninterested in being supermodels.

Funniest part of it was a short convo between Rachel and Martin.

R: "Make your dog pose properly"

M (with pointedly raised eyebrows at R): "Elsa, pose properly"

��

I managed to get one shot that would work from each of them, then did a bit of skulduggery with the photos to get them both facing the same direction. Louis (black boy) got his special collar put on, so I had to get that bit right too!

It's ages since I've done labradors, even longer a chocolate one. So any colours in a chocolate coat!

I framed them in my favourite wood veneer, and used a bronze slip to try and balance both black and chocolate colours.

Aren't they both lovely? I just adore their soulful eyes! ��

Pastel on Mi Teintes Touch

Fabulous Frank

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 20:32:33 GMT

Kildromin Shearer (Frank)

This is the stunning Frank!

I can't tell you what a joy he was to photograph, he just posed liked a supermodel, and despite being at the back of the tradestand shedding at Blair, he was so unfazed.

He's a gold dust horse, a unicorn, and his gorgeous soul just shines out of his eyes.

I finished the portrait, and Kara asked if it would be possible to drop it to her at a competition local to me in a couple of days. I said no, then thought it might be lovely to surprise her, so I phoned the wholesaler first thing and got the order put onto same day, for next day. He took down my address twice, had to wait on the chop guy coming in to confirm it would go, then sent me the invoice, so I assumed all was good.

They usually get to me before 11, so I phoned to see what was happening, and he'd just put it through the system and sent it to my old Edinburgh address. Frantically, I tried to get someone there to accept it, but it was all a bit not happening, so I ended up having the drive to Livingston to pick it up from the Depot after the driver clocked off.

This of course was the day they were sorting the Queen's route to Edinburgh, so the traffic was heinous. After a four hour round trip, I got home, framed it up, and messaged Kara to let her know I'd have it for the Saturday for her.

She'd only injured herself and wasn't coming after all!
All good, however, a fellow competitor let me drop it to her, and Kara drove over to pick it up as soon as they got home!

She's left me a lovely recommendation.

"Honoured that Jenny agreed to paint Frank for me. She has him down to a T. If you're thinking of having your animal portrait done then don’t go anywhere else. An Absolutely wonderfully talented lady! Thanks again Jenny xxx"

Me, I feel honoured that people trust me to do their special people.

Archie Spaniel

Sun, 25 Sep 2022 20:04:13 GMT

Archie Spaniel

Another of the Blair exhibits, the glorious Archie.

He was so chilled when I was photographing him, I could have worked from any of the photos. I love his colouring, and his light eyes, much paler than any spaniel I've previously done. He's a total dude.

Archie lives with Hector (who I'll show next, as they are so different they need their own posts ��)

Their owners have this cracking photo of them both from behind, sitting looking intently through a gate. We decided it would look perfect as a vignette on the mount, and I reversed the photo for each dog, to make it individual and specific to each one.

Again, the colour isn't read properly, the background isn't quite as yellow as the photograph, not as brown as the screenshot of the frame!

I didn't actually get around to photographing it properly framed up, so a screenshot from the video at Blair will have to suffice.

Aero and Fletcher

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 19:58:41 GMT

Aero and Fletcher

I've nearly recovered from Blair, so can set about showing some recent work again.

These two lovely boys, Aero and Fletcher, are very different in real life, and I was worried about them not fitting well together in the same piece.

In his previous life, Fletcher raced successfully as Festive Fare, and is now a high flying RoR horse, who was 4th in the recent RoR Championships at Aintree.

Good horses can turn their hand to anything!

Aero is a big powerful warmblood, with a lot of attitude and presence, who was possibly not the most obliging horse I’ve ever photographed! I did a little bit of photo jigsaw juggling to get the look I wanted, that would fit with the photo of Fletcher, who of course stood like a saint.

Below, I’ve attached the first layer of working that I do, as I think this piece really shows why putting the detail in is so important.

Aren’t they handsome? ��

Pastel on Mi Teint Touch paper, 16" x 20"

Arwen

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 19:53:44 GMT

Arwen

Here's the lovely Arwen, who took me forever to paint.

She has the most amazing colours in her coat, varying from an almost magenta bay, to a blue bay, right thro to pale ochre and pale lilac. I wasn't entirely sure about the background, but I ended up going with a flat black, as she has so many colours already, it could have looked too messy.

She's Friesian x TB, and has such a mix of both breeds, even in just her face. I love how she has the lighter TB muzzle, but the beautiful wide Friesian forehead, and the most gorgeous liquid eyes. ��

I finished her mid April, and took the first photo then. Because the background is flat black, with a lot of paint, I had to wait for that to dry properly before I put in whiskers and eyelashes. No word of a lie, it was nearly a month before it was dry enough!

Then of course, I totally forgot to take a photo of with the final detail in. ��

Thankfully Suzie has sent me a photo of the framed and finished Arwen on her wall, so there is a record!

I had a different frame in mind for her, but when I went to frame up, it just didn't feel right. I used this one, as it picks up a few of her coat colours, without dominating the whole effect.

Oil on canvas 16" x 20"

Fern

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 19:47:04 GMT

Fern

I've not had much to show publicly recently, as a lot has been surprise presents not yet given!

Finally though, one has been gifted, and I can post!

A couple of years ago, a voucher was given at Christmas, for a dog portrait.

Earlier this year, wee Fern crossed the bridge, and Craig then asked me to do the picture.

It was not the easiest work I've done, as I had to work from several photos, and put together eye colour and coat colour from the selection I've shown. It's hard working like this, because I never know if I've actually nailed the right colours.

Once I'd finished it, I messaged Lucy, who gave the voucher, to see if she wanted to surprise him with it. That seemed to be a great idea, so she collected it from me a few weeks ago.

Craig was working abroad, so the surprise would have to wait.

In the interim, Craig messaged me asking how I was getting on with it. Argh!

I decided that as I can't lie convincingly, even via email, I'd just ignore it, and pretend I hadn't seen it. ��

So, he got the pic this weekend, and apparently loves it, so I'm so relieved!

Here she is, the lovely Fern. I'd love to have met her ��

Pastel on Canson Mi-Teinte 22 x 23 cm

Luna and Oreo

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 19:40:37 GMT

Luna and Oreo

I’ve been waiting to share this gorgeous pair since May!

I photographed them in January, as Emma wanted Oreo with his clip, not a full coat. So Luna had to sport her winter haircut too! ��

The sun wasn’t very obliging (because Scotland, January), and my camera decided to decline auto focus accordingly. I was starting to panic, Emma took it from me, and it then worked! Relief all round, as we were on a short window of daughter avoidance to keep the portrait a secret for Isla’s 18 the birthday!

It’s a long time since I’ve done clipped horses, possibly Dawn Goodfellow’s racehorses last century! It’s a very different way of working as there’s not the same amount of shine and colour, and no hair strokes to put in. It took me a while to get the feel right, but then it all just flowed. There’s a more subtle difference between them than if they had full coats, as the skin colours are similar.

Luna was a bit wired in the shoot, so I toned the veins down, but Emma decided she definitely needed the ear with the bit missing to not be covered up, so there it is!

I’m really impressed she’s managed to keep it secret until Isla’s birthday yesterday!!

I’m chuffed to bits with the finished piece, it’s exciting to do something a bit different!

Anyway, enough rambling, I’m writing this on my phone, as have a three hour wait for a train (due to my booked one being cancelled ��) so apologies for any random typos!

Pastel on pastelmat and I can’t remember the size!

They're done in one of my favourite frames, and not a lot of horses suit it, but the colours were just perfect for this pair!! ��

Goldielocks

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 19:32:56 GMT

Gorgeous Goldielocks!

Here's the gorgeous Goldielocks! ��

I haven't done a wee pony in a long time, so was great fun doing Goldie!

The portrait was a surprise present, so I worked from various sent photos to get the final result. I'm so used to doing all the definition in a sports' horse or TB's face, that it's very different doing a mini Shetland!

She has such beautiful eyes, doesn't she?

I love that 'no messing' expression! ��

I've added the photo I worked from, which was a tad challenging!

Classic VI

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 19:24:25 GMT

Classic VI (Betty)

CLASSIC VI

I've been looking forward to unveiling this one!

Kirsty Chabert rides this absolutely beautiful mare for Carole Somers, and Carole approached me on the stand at Blair to commission an oil.

Betty (Classic's stable name) was up at Blair having a prep before she went off to Aachen for the Nations Cup.

I went down to the stables to photograph her, and I was so taken by how incredibly lovely she was. She has the most amazing eye, so liquid, and although not hugely obliging to photograph (��!) I got a couple of peachy shots.

Carole wanted the bridle on her, and in the discussion I didn't think too much about it. When I do bridles, I try and not make them too obvious, too shiny, as I think it can detract from the horse, who after all is the subject of the piece. I feel I did that a couple of times in the distant past, so it's now a conscious decision to tone them down a bit.

And then, drawing it up, I got to the browband, and it's got squillions of tiny diamante studs on it. �� It was a fine line to balance, but I'm really happy with the way it worked out.

The exciting part of all this is that the Nations Cup Team won Gold, so she's a gold medallist!

It's an absolute privilege to paint such a gorgeous horse, and I wish her the best of luck on her step up to 5* this year!

This is oil on linen, 16" x 20".

Ferndale Captain

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 19:24:23 GMT

Ferndale Captain

Here's the gorgeous Captain! ��

It was decided to do him in oils, and because of his colour, I had to think long and hard about the background, as my 'go to' black wouldn't really have worked with him!

It took a bit of experimentation to get it right. I started with it in similar tint, but much darker, and he disappeared into it.

The difficulty of doing a black horse is the power of the colour, and what should make it good because it stands out, is also tricky because there's a limit to how much stand out I want, and it's quite a balance to contrast shadow and colour when they're both the same!

I've also discovered that black backgrounds take weeks (literally!) longer to dry than any other colour. I had another oil on the go at the same time, and it still had a wet background in the time I'd twice varnished and then framed Captain up! ��

Regarding the photos, oils are even harder to photograph than pastels, as the sheen of the surface photographs white where it should photograph black, especially around the eyes. It's also out of focus, so you can't see the detail on the forelock which took an eternity! My last two big ones were both professionally photographed, so they seem to have the tricks to do it. Me, I haven't a clue! ��

The important part is that it looks right in the flesh, and I have a happy client, so all good!

He's framed up in a frame I am using more and more, as the suppliers keep discontinuing the ones I love!

Susan, my client, reminded me that is 28 years since I did my first portrait for her, her gorgeous collie called Buster!

As he was done in 1994 (pre internet !!��!!) he can have a wee memory lane share on Captain's post too! ��

Jemima Fergusson

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 19:08:04 GMT

The mini monarch!

Jemima is the matriarch of Niall's daxy family, and does she know it! She has so much presence, she is totally adorable. When I framed up Herbie for Niall, I used a seriously pricy frame, deep and wide, because Herbie deserved it. When we were talking about a frame for Jemima, both Niall and I had the same thought at the same time - she would look so badass in the same frame!! So have a look below ... she totally rocks it!

Love her!

Sprinter Sacre - in the presence of greatness

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sat, 24 Sep 2022 20:34:48 GMT

Monday 26 February 2016

In late 2015, on social media, I saw Hannah Bishop looking for sponsorship to ride in a charity race to raise funds for Greatwood, an amazing facility caring for ex-racehorses. I contacted Hannah, offered a portrait, and we thought that a famous racehorse would be the best idea.

Sprinter Sacre was my legend of choice.

I was lucky enough to be at the Festival when he won the Queen Mother in 2013. He took my breath away. His effortless, flawless jumping at speed left me reeling. He was magical, a deity of the turf. I even forgave him for beating my hitherto favourite two mile chaser, Sizing Europe.

I ran, trying to beat the crowds, to see this towering genius in the winner's enclosure. Always, there is a special kind of magic surrounding every winner that stands there, but this horse, this horse for me transcended all others. The roars of applause that accompanied his walk to the coveted First Place spot were spine-tingling, the emotion was huge, the wonder wide-eyed. Yet he gave even more than that, this horse acknowledged the adoration. He lifted his head, and looked up at the crowd. He knew, really knew, that all this was just for him.

From that moment onwards I was forever smitten.

I hoped to try and have some of that memory in the portrait. The very talented Fran Altoft, top class racing photographer, searched her portfolio and found some excellent images to supply the look I was aiming for. A huge thanks to Fran, this wouldn't have been the same without her help.

No piece of art can convey everything I felt that day, but I am so privileged to have had the opportunity to try.

Prints are available to purchase here

https://www.jennylupton.com/shopping/Sprinter-Sacre-c139664008

Better at Drawing than Driving!

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sat, 24 Sep 2022 20:34:32 GMT

Friday, 22 September 2017

The very handsome Harvey, who nearly didn't get the sneaky shots done to create his surprise portrait!

I had a tight window to be in the yard run by Chris Burton (Australian Eventing legend, with the aded bonus of not getting hat hair - how?!) where Harvey lives, by 5pm, to photograph a couple of horses when they had come back from an event. I also had another horse to photograph in the same area, whose yard was also waiting on horses coming back from an event.

It all started so well.

I had the loan of a very smart, sporty Mercedes, I figured how to use the SatNav, I had enough fuel to get to where I was going, and off I set in plenty time. ��

I was about 20 or so minutes into the journey, when I realised I'd forgotten to put the camera into the car. Also, that I didn't actually know how to get back to where I'd just left from. ��

I knew my hosts were partying, so rather than phone them, I just looked for 'HOME' in the SatNav, set it, and off I went.

In my defence, I was heading in the right direction, but when I pulled up in a car park I'd never set eyes on, I had to make that 'lost' phone call, and was given the right postcode, with much hilarity on the other end of the phone. Apparently, as the car owner knew where she lived, she hadn't bothered putting 'HOME' into the car when she'd got it, and I'd taken myself off to where the previous owner lived. ��

Back on track, camera in car, still on time, I get stuck in traffic on the M25, for ages. I'm phoning clients as the minutes are galloping past, then I look at the fuel gauge on emergency and break out in a cold sweat. It takes forever to get to the next junction, where I'm desperately hoping to find Services, and have to stop at a pub, get directions to a garage, then set back off on my way. ��

This means I have to change the yards' timings about (I can't find the first yard anyway, I drove past it several times ��), my second client meets me, and we set off to that yard, only to be unable to get in, because her SatNav took her to a gate that we didn't have a code for! So we circled it a couple of times, until we finally got in.

As we were horribly late, the sneaky plan to calmly photograph Harvey on the quiet was blown, and I was grabbing random shots of him when the owners weren't looking, in between doing the horses that were all polished for me! (Thankfully, my next client was very understanding about the collapse of the day!)

Luckily, we didn't get found out, and the surprise portrait was handed over last weekend, so I can now post him. He has the most gorgeous eyes, and the frantic photographing had him a tad concerned as in the photo on the left, but with relief I got this shot on the right which had him focussed on food!

Ottimo

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sat, 24 Sep 2022 20:34:31 GMT

Friday, 10 November 2017

I was asked to do a surprise portrait, as a birthday present, for the owner of the wonderful Ottimo.

Ottimo, a son of the legendary Cape Cross, spent his racing career in Hong Kong winning over three million HKD, and is now retired to Australia. For anyone with an interest in racing reading this, his results are below.

OTTIMO'S RACE RECORD

It's interesting seeing the difference in the layout and available information on the HKJC form, in comparison with the European databases which can be laborious and/or expensive. From my point of view, it was excellent to able to freely access his videos, and get a feel for him, as there were no individual photos that I could work solely from, although I used this one as my basis.

I know Hong Kong well, having spent some time there in the past. Going racing is an incredible experience, the buzz is enormous, and the atmosphere when a favourite wins is amazing. There's something about the lighting at an evening meeting at Happy Valley, it's much warmer (not just the weather!) than similar floodlit racing in the UK. I love the golds and reds that are thrown up, so I wanted to try and capture that emotion of colour and temperature, yet still allow Ottimo to shine through.

Working with coloured tack in a portrait offers some challenges harmonising the strength of the raw colour against the subtleties of the equine coat. I really liked the tones on his breastplate, and thought introducing that as part of the picture would balance both the intense red of the bridle and the big block areas of the neck. I'm really pleased how it's worked out and pulled the image together.

Below is the photo I worked from, and example of how I work. I block in the big areas roughly, as on the left, then work in the detail to produce a much smoother finished piece, as on the right.

As ever, I feel very privileged to have been able to portray such a superb horse. Happy retirement, Ottimo!

Kauto Star

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sat, 24 Sep 2022 20:34:30 GMT

Saturday, 23 December 2017

In my normal world (or should that read world that's normal to me?) I work solely on commission, and occasionally for a specific charitable occasion. I've only ever portrayed one horse (that wasn't one of my own) solely for my own pleasure, and that was Sadlers Wells. I did ultimately sell it, artists need to eat.

Doing Kauto? It's very different, because I needed to do it. He has as yet no destination, and I have no idea what I'm want to do with him.

It's taken me a very, very long time to do this horse, as, until now, I've been unable to rein in my overwhelming emotions at his untimely and unnecessary demise, and that wasn't the feel I wanted to put out there, however much that rage still smoulders. I only watched him racing, I didn't 'know' him, in the flesh, but he came off the racecourse and into my heart. I know I'm not alone, I know that's how so many people feel watching a horse, like him, horses that light up the turf, that transcend the great, that make our hearts soar and our emotions raw.

I didn't want to jump on the bandwagon churning out his image to cash in after he died, I didn't even know what I wanted to do, so I made a stab at the portrait a year or so ago, but it still didn't feel right. Until now.

I feel I have to make some kind of statement with the portrait, hence I've included a small symbolic vignette on the bottom right that appeases me enough, without taking away from what is really important, this horse.

Kauto Star was the best horse I've ever seen in National Hunt racing. He was untouchable on his day, and there were plenty of those. He was thrilling and sometimes terrifying. He won £3,775,883. He won the Betfair million pound bonus for winning the Holy Trinity of the Betfair Chase, the King George and the Gold Cup in the same season. I'm pretty sure Betfair thought it would never be achieved. Ouch.

Many thanks to Jimmy Clark for allowing me to work from his photo of Kauto after winning at Ascot in 2008.

I hope I've done him justice. He was King.

Prints are available in the Shop

The England Girls

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sat, 24 Sep 2022 20:34:28 GMT

Wednesday, 27 December 2017

This work was a 'significant birthday' present, for James England, of his four girls on their respective ponies. Usually, I manage to avoid doing human faces as much as possible, as it's an entirely different genre to animal portraiture, and not one I'm particularly comfortable with! The chosen photos, however, left me no option but to woman up and crack on with it. Clearly, being related, there are family resemblances between the girls, so that both complicated and helped, in equal measure!

As ever, there's complications involved in creating a surprise present, and with this one I had to get permission from the original photographers to use their images to work from, being impossible for me to take my own of them on horseback, or competing. So big thanks to Adrian Sinclair for allowing me to work from his photos. I also have permission from another photographer, but I can't remember the company name, so if they chance to see this, I'm more than happy to credit them!

There's a difficulty in doing a compilation piece, trying to make individual photos sync together, in size, colours and shape, especially as all decisions have to be made at the very beginning, and can't be changed once part way through, unless I face the heartbreaking scenario of restarting from scratch, which has been known!

For this piece to balance and keep the eye in the picture, I 'mirrored' one of the photographs. It's tricky ensuring one image doesn't dominate, and I feel comfortable I've achieved that. I've attached a detail of each pair, and I am extremely proud of my tweed jackets! For context, the original is 60cm x 45cm, unframed.

As ever, I'm very flattered to have been entrusted with such a special commission.

Handsome Oscar

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sat, 24 Sep 2022 20:34:26 GMT

June 2018

Handsome Oscar! ��

I haven't been asked to do a cat in a long time, so when I was asked to do this gorgeous chap as a surprise birthday present, I was delighted!

I thought that my usual background colour might be too dark to allow the subtleties of his coat and colour, so I used a pale cream background. I normally avoid pale paper, as it's really hard to keep clean, when working in pastels, but with due diligence and prudent use of a rubber, I managed to escape inadvertent smudges!

I made a conscious decision to leave a lot of space to the left, so am really chuffed with how this came out, I had it in my head as having a bit of an Oriental feel, and that seems to have come through. Well, I think so, anyway! ��

Gelsonimo

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sat, 24 Sep 2022 20:34:24 GMT

Geli, 18 Dec 2018

Geli is no longer with us, so I worked from some lovely photos sent to me. Often, what makes a great photo doesn't work as a portrait, as slight distortion of perspective is believable in a photo, but less so in a piece of of artwork.

We discussed a long time how I was to do this, and what head shot to use, what background etc.

I loved the light and expression in the photo, but less so the angle, as it's challenging to make sure the head doesn't look just stuck onto the neck! We both agreed this one was the best to use, and I'm really glad we went with it. He took me a bit longer than I anticipated, pastels don't really lend themselves to the degree of colour subtlety the light in this required, so I had to keep walking away and looking at him with new eyes, until I felt him jump out at me.

He was an Italian TB, and so beautiful, I hope I've done him justice. Forgive the rubbish quality of the iPhone photo, as I was so busy I forgot to do a proper photo record.

Jacaranda Prince (Barney)

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sat, 24 Sep 2022 20:34:22 GMT

22 November 2018

Barney is a fabulous pony, and he's still going strong with a new family, winning just last weekend. He's been consistent and successful with several riders, as children outgrew him, and it's testament to his initial care in how he was produced that he's in his twenties and as well and keen as ever.

Barney was Sarah's daughter's pony, and she felt that we might do something a little different with him. Clearly I can't change the basis of how I work, other wise all the detail is lost, so I suggested that I pursue the idea of using background paper in a similar colour to the main colour of the animal. I've done this already this year with 'Fly' and 'Oscar'. (I've put their pictures in the comments).

Typically, the paper colour I wanted to use has been discontinued (a theme running through all my supplies, from pencils to frames!), but I think this has worked really well. It challenges me to think differently, and I enjoyed the freshness of working to different parameters. This style isn't going to work with all colours, a bright chestnut would look quite terrifyingly orange, and I'm not sure my pink-skinned stallion would appreciate a rose background! However, for the colours that lend themselves, I'm enjoying exploring it.

As ever, I feel very privileged that clients trust me to do their four legged family members justice.

The Milan Boys - Field of Dreams

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sat, 24 Sep 2022 20:34:13 GMT

5 April, 2019

Finally, my personal Sistine Chapel of these three glorious boys;

One For Arthur

Big River

Champagnen’diamonds

There’s a lot of emotion behind the creation, not least panic and self-doubt at the enormity of making this, my first oil, in over 20 years! I clearly had a massive boost of unthinking confidence when I started on it as the canvas size is 1 metre wide by 75 cm high. ��

I can’t thank Debs, one half of the Golf Widows, enough for her patience at my total misjudgement of how long it would take me!

I am one lucky girl to have been commissioned to do such fabulous horses ❤️

All the best in the big race tomorrow to #OneForArthur, and also to #BigRiver if he takes up his Scottish National engagement. ❤️❤️

#safehome #superstars

One For Arthur

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sat, 24 Sep 2022 20:33:59 GMT

October 2018

I've been pretty low profile on this page of late as many of the pieces I've finished are surprises, and not yet given. I can't wait to let people see them, and I'm doing some interesting mounting too! But that's all under wraps for a while!

I can, however, finally show one that took up a fair amount of time, and that is the 2017 Grand National legend that is One for Arthur.

Back in January 2018, I offered a portrait for auction at Doddie Weir 's Tartan Giraffe Ball, and the promise was bought by Bel, one of the Golf Widows, who are Arthur's proud owners. The picture was to be upped to the same size as the Kauto one, about twice the size of a standard.

I don't do many at that size, and I'd forgotten just how long they take me!

This summer, I went down to the Borders and photographed Arthur on his summer holidays, lazing about in a field. He was way more interested in Froz' carrots, than smiling for the camera, and it was with great relief we got a shot where he wasn't pulling 'give me the carrot' faces! He's a much brighter colour in the summer, and goes darker in his winter coat, and when clipped.

I am so privileged to have been asked to do this big and beautiful giant of the turf. ��

Wishing the very best of luck for the coming season to Arthur, and that he can be the horse that regains his crown. ❤️

Edited to add, Arthur has now retired, and is living his best life back with his breeders in Ireland, doing the Racehorse to Riding Horse classes.

Spring Fever V (Herbie)

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sat, 24 Sep 2022 20:33:58 GMT

22 October 2021

This was right up there with my favourite pieces to do!

Ohhh, this fabulous horse! I remember him from my eventing days, and that was a while ago! He was careful, consistent and just loved his job.

Niall found Herbie as a 3yo, when he was still a young rider. Some horses are sent to give us wings, and Herbie was that horse for him. They worked up the levels together, and Herbie became a regular at Advanced level, usually in the money, and even beating royalty in the shape of the legendary Toytown at Witton Castle!

He was good enough to compete internationally, taking third at Breda (Holland) in the old long format 2* (now 3*), and ran brilliantly XC at Barbury 3* (now 4*) still a proper track for a brave horse.

That’s a record you’d be delighted about any event horse to have, but as ever, the back story is the most important.

Herbie was Niall’s rock. He helped Niall through a really difficult family time, and was his glue, as horses often are. I never know if horses know what they give us, but sometimes I think they do, and the lasting partnership Herbie has with Niall affirms that.

Talent comes with challenges, and he was one of those horses that won’t stay in a field, and Niall said:

“He was always a nightmare to keep in the field and would jump from field to field very regularly, even being found by the postman in the village once, and jumping out a walled garden into the middle of a BBQ on another occasion!”

Whilst that’s a PIA to deal with, it’s also a sign of a brilliant jumper and you’d take that all day long!

But the most important quote is the one that tells the story we all recognise;

“More than any of that though he has just been my very best friend for nearly 27 years, the kindest creature that's ever walked this earth...without him I wouldn't have had the confidence to take on opportunities like being based at Jane Holderness-Roddams and staying down south for so long... He is 30 years old now and in fine fettle, still banging the door to get out in the morning and find the muddiest place to roll when he is out.”

That brings a lump to my throat, and I can’t tell you how privileged I feel to have been asked to do his portrait. ❤❤

Also, I got to put him in a badass frame that I love!! ��

Hope you enjoy looking!

Four boys

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sat, 24 Sep 2022 20:33:57 GMT

24 October 2021

It's a long one ... !��

About a year ago, I was asked if I could do an oil of a photo of 4 racehorses, taken by the owners at the yard. I had a quick look, and said yes, I could.

Oils and pastels are very different mediums, the biggest difference being in oils I need to wait for the latest layer to dry, so that the next layer can go on. Being corrie duked, I work from right to left. In real terms, that means that although the head on the right will be dry enough to put more on, I have to wait until the head on the left is also totally dry. I'm not very good at not slapping on big bits of colour, so that takes even longer!

Then of course, I've had long enough to keep seeing parts I want to change, so I do, and the whole process repeats.

I realised that I needed more information for the detail to work, so went up to Lucinda Russell Racing to take more photos, where everyone was incredibly helpful trying to get the light and the angle of the heads the same! I even had a wee trip up the gallops watching horses work! ��

I've painted Arthur three times now, he was so unimpressed at my attempts at photography interfering with his field time that he bit my arm! ��

I got the photos I needed, but of course by this time of year the coats had all changed colour. So I had to go back over everything and I pretty much redid it. It was quite disheartening, waiting for it to dry, and I felt like I was never going to come to the end.

Bits of it kept feeling wrong, and I was worried that Arthur and Humphrey were getting lost a bit, so I left it alone again, to see it with fresh eyes, which showed me I needed to lose the mane on Hugo on the far right, as it was muddying the whole effect, and I also had Arthur's eye slightly in the wrong place, so a wee shift of 5mm for that and suddenly it all came together!

I love the varnishing stage, partly because it means I'm finished, but also it pulls the whole piece together. I was happily slapping it on when suddenly the black from the background started to bleed across Hugo's (luckily properly dry) neck! The paint was so thick where I'd layered to hide the mane it still wasn't dry!

How fast did I use how many cotton buds to fix that! ��

So here it is, months longer than I'd anticipated, but I'm so chuffed with it! Big River has the most beautiful head, and it's the second time I've painted him, and was delighted to see him run a blinder in second yesterday at Kelso Racecourse.

The horses are listed below, racing names and stable names consecutively. Massive thanks to Debs for her patience! ❤

#OneForArthur #BollingerandKrug #BigRiver #DomandLouis #Arthur #Humphrey #Henry #Hugo

Original photo work from below

Boris

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 20:33:26 GMT

Boris, 2021

This is the one that made me cry. He's called Boris.

His humans had to give him his forever wings a few weeks before Christmas. I hadn't had the opportunity to take my own photos, so I was sent three. When I saw this, the way he was looking at his Dad, I just knew it was the one to do. It's not conventional, but I've done a couple from this angle before, and they work if the expression is there.

I said I would try and do the portrait in time for Christmas, as a surprise for his Dad, but I didn't make any promises. I started it and it just flowed. It doesn't often happen, and its usually when its my own photos.

I was absolutely convinced I wasn't going to finish him in time, because I was exhausted with all the work I'd already done, but once I was in the groove, I got this surreal energy. Over and above it flowing, it was almost as if I was being guided, and it made me quite emotional. Now that may be because I was so tired, but who knows?

I loved his lion's mane, so it's a little larger than I normally do as I felt it needed to be incorporated.

I finished him in time, and when I handed over the portrait, Liz' eyes filled with tears, so that was me off too! I'm even feeling it again as I write this ... ��

Anyway!! Here is the beautiful Boris, he touched my heart. ❤

My Three Kings

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 20:33:23 GMT

My Three Kings 2021

Seems appropriate rounding off the last of the 2021 Christmas work with three kings!
Yay, presents have been given so I can finally share some work!

This year I've been doing a few combinations, so this is Martin's surprise present for Rachel, of the three important horses in her life. He was inspired by Susan's Crawford's 'We Three Kings', and asked me to do a similar piece titled 'My Three Kings'.

No pressure then. ��

I had to do secret photographing, and keep it all under wraps. There was a bit of a challenge balancing two incredibly sleek summery TBs with the gorgeous wee hairy chap in the middle, but I'm so pleased how it's worked out!

Here's Rachel's Three Kings.

❤❤

Drummond Equines

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Tue, 20 Sep 2022 20:33:28 GMT

Drummond Equines, 2021

I had some fun photographing these three, the pony with the white face was dragging us all over the place because he didn't have a headcollar on!

It was a beautiful day, and I got some great photos to work from, so worth the trip to very SW Scotland!

As ever, I photographed before whiskers and eyelashes and names. So. you'll just have to believe I put them in!

Myka

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 20:33:29 GMT

Myka, 2021

Ringing the changes slightly, here's the first Christmas 2021 dog!

This gorgeous little girl is called Myka, and she is adored by her human, who got the portrait as a surprise.

I did laugh when Helen said she had no idea what to get him for Christmas, because he has everything he needs or wants, and then had a brainwave and contacted me. Because EVERYONE needs a portrait! ��

So, wee Myka came to the yard to be secretly photographed, and she is so cute. My Doberman was beside himself, he thought she was his present, a wee playmate. ��

He aptly demonstrated why I called him Zebedee! ��

Dog back in jeep.

Myka was a wee doll to photograph, and this is the result of the one we chose.

Isn't she utterly adorable?! ��

Ziggy

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sun, 18 Sep 2022 20:33:30 GMT

Ziggy 2021

I've been looking forward to unveiling this portrait of the striking Ziggy. I finished it back in March, and I cannot believe that Helen managed to keep it under wraps until now!

I delivered it in July, it was all wrapped up to keep it safe, and she just went and hid it for Daisy's birthday without even looking at it! That's never happened before, usually people have checked to make sure they got the right picture (I have previous for mix-ups ��!

He's an absolute dude, he was a total saint to photograph, I could have worked from any of the shots, but we went for this one.

Mik

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sat, 17 Sep 2022 20:33:47 GMT

Mik, 2019

Here is the beautiful Mik.

I didn't get to meet him in person, so I worked from his person's photos. Whilst they were lovely as photos, they weren't ideal to work from, either too blurry, or the light was difficult, etc. We finally chose one, and I had the bright idea of playing with the background colour to match the coat colour, essentially a tan, or white. That hit a major stumbling block as there wasn't a paper colour that matched the tan, so we elected to go with white.

I don't often get it horribly wrong, but when I do ..... ��

With Mik being a whippet, I wanted to try and portray the delicacy of his features, but it all went a bit wrong on the first attempt on white, as the pastels were just too clumsy looking. So I binned that.

I started again, this time very mindful of what happened before, and no matter what I did, it just wasn't happening. I couldn't get the feel I was looking for, so I didn't bin this one, I kept it to show my client why it was such an abject failure. I hated how cartoon like it appeared, no matter what I did. I've attached it below for posterity. (It's still on my wall as a horrible warning!)

The downside of pastel work is that I can't really make a mistake, it's impossible to work over a misplaced heavy line, and an eraser lifts the paper surface.

So to picture three, I reverted to my failsafe neutral grey green, and was back in my comfort zone, and more importantly, I had a happy client, who agreed I was right to restart.

I am also very chuffed with the little vignette on the mount, it was a lovely photo silhouette, and he was standing in his favourite spot, so a lovely memory to have.

I wish I'd met him, he looks such a beautiful elegant boy. ��

Fly

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sat, 17 Sep 2022 20:33:46 GMT

Fly 2018

Fly was a surprise present, hence I had to work from some pretty dire photos. The client wanted something a bit different, as the house it was to hang in had a very modern feel, so I came up with doing her on black, just allowing the white and the light to define her shape. I used a black mount too, and i like the depth it gives.

So chuffed how it came out, and they were pleased too, so a win all round!

Kilkenny Lad (Cuffey)

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 20:33:52 GMT

Kilkenny Lad (Cuffey)

I can't find the previous blog about him, but I was sure I did one.

Cuffey was a legend, the horse everyone dreams of having, who did everything to the best of his ability, and with a smile on his face.

Beautiful boy, he's sorely missed.

Biscuit

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 20:33:48 GMT

Biscuit, 2017

This is another of my favourites, that look, that eye.

It wasn't a breeze getting photos to work from, but that look just nailed him! Between the flowing mane and the plaited mane, there was a lot of hair to do! But it was worth the effort, I love how it came together.

Just the cutest boy!

Paulank Brockagh

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 20:33:50 GMT

Paulank Brockagh March 2018

I cannot tell you how chuffed was I to be asked to do the amazing mare Paulank Brockagh, for a surprise birthday present. ❤️

Her record with Sam Griffiths is phenomenal, and as an eventing devotee, I have obviously watched her (with awe!) compete through the years. A proper 5* horse, she is one of only six mares to have won Badminton, and was a fantastic individual 4th at Rio 2014. ��

I was at Pau the year she ran there, and watching her, what struck me was her focus when jumping, I loved how bright and alert she looked coming to a fence, and I wanted to try and capture that in the portrait.

The commission arrived mid February, for a mid March deadline, so I had a short window to work with, and it wasn’t possible to get to Dorset to see her myself. The Covid outbreak was also affecting deliveries, so I had to work fast.

The yard were brilliant, sending me lots of photos of her, but given the time of year, she was clipped, so her coat was much darker than her shiny summer one.

To achieve the the desired result, I did what I don’t normally do, and worked from a lot of different photos. After a little hair-tearing, suddenly the image I was aiming for appeared!

I didn’t know how it would be received, it’s always a little tricky when I haven’t ‘met’ a subject, so I was overjoyed to get the loveliest testimonial from Dinah, Brock’s owner.

“ … not only have I received the best birthday present imaginable (and at short notice!) It is now hanging on my wall and every time I pass by and stop and admire our precious Brocks I feel sheer joy! I cannot recommend Jenny more highly - so talented!”

What a mare, what a privilege to portray her! ❤️��

It's a quick photo from my iphone, as I didn't have time to set up a proper one, so it's not totally accurate with colour, but it gives the idea!

Mylough Blue

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 20:33:51 GMT

Christmas 2021

This is a pastel portrait that has a lot of related memories with it.

I first did portraits for Dawn last century, when she had two lovely event horses called Tommy Turtle and Brillo.

We reconnected fairly recently on FB, and she asked me to do her current horse, the gorgeous Blue. ��

Dawn has always had lovely horses, and this big chap is no exception. The classy ID breeding shines out of him!

An absolute privilege to portray him, although he did wonder who on earth I was and what I was doing! ��

I thought it might be interesting to add below a second photo showing it half way through, where a lot of the top layer is still to be finished. It's a bit of an insight into how I work.

With pastels, like this, there can only be two layers as the medium doesn't allow any other option.

That's why oils take forever because I can keep altering! ��

The saga on the frame for this is a post in itself, so I'll spare you, but that's why I forgot to take a pic of him framed up!

He's a bit handsome, isn't he? ��❤

Bernabeu

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 20:33:49 GMT

Bernabeu December 2020

This beautiful boy had me doing a bit of second guessing, as I had to work from a selection of photos to get the whole picture. Unfortunately, he was lost earlier this year, so it was a case of amalgamating his photos in my head, and really hoping I could do him justice. He was very much adored, and like all ex-racers, very special. ❤

I based the piece on one particular photo, which was just 'him', his gentle expression, and his lovely kind eye.

One of his striking features was white spots on his left side, on his neck and face. The photo was of his right side, so I reversed the photo. He was sporting his winter coat and a head collar, so I needed to find the TB bone structure, the spots, and get the right colour of coat, not forgetting that the blaze would go in a different direction too!

I took the spots and colour information from other photos, and just cracked on. It's quite spooky, sometimes, doing this job. Often, when I'm working on a portrait of a horse or dog that I've never met, and is no longer with us, I'll make a mark, get a rush of emotion, and know that somehow, that's the feel, the character. I can't explain it, but it's quite magical to experience.

The best bit though? My happy clients. Elise has just left this wonderful testimonial on my page, and it makes my heart swell that I can do this for someone. ❤

"Jenny painted the most stunning picture of my ex-racehorse after us having to say a painful goodbye earlier this year.

Jenny’s painting has brought him back to life so he can live on with us.

Highly recommend "

I am lucky to be able to do this. ❤

Pastel on Canson paper, drawing size 40 x 40 cm. I've added the photos I worked from below.

Solly

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Tue, 13 Sep 2022 20:34:02 GMT

Dec 2020

This is the lovely Solly, who owns Jen, on a full blown timotei day!

This portrait was a surprise, a thank you from the trustees for Jen's 6 years of sterling work for the TREC GB charity since it's inception. As it was to be a secret, I couldn't take my own photos, so I worked from shots taken by the professional photographer Kris Clay, who had captured Solly and Jen out competing at a TREC GB day, and kindly gave me permission to use them.

Solly is an Icelandic, and the partnership he has with Jen is incredible. He's a real people person, and everyone loves his cheeky character. One of the judges once said they just love Solly bobbing around with all that mane! ��

Anyone who has followed my page knows that manes are a bit of a thing with me! It's one of the hardest parts to get right, especially with pale manes, as pastels don't really have the colour range necessary, so there's usually a bit of witchery involved!

Of course the best photo to use had the wildest mane! ��

Also, closer inspection of the photo showed a roan/smudgy effect on the nearside of his blaze. It was hard to see from a photo whether it was markings, or a skin reaction, so we delved back over a couple of years of photos to make sure it was 'him'! And it was!

It was actually quite fun to do, despite my worries about not getting the mane right! He's such a fantastic rich colour, and I found a lovely frame that just sets him off beautifully!

Photo in comments. (Just realised that I forgot to take a photo with the whiskers put in! I did do them, you can see them in the framed pic. One day I'll be efficient! ��)

Jen sent me this message as a testimonial, so I'll just share it here:

"This is the sort of thing I would love to have done for myself, but have never been able to afford it. The trustees got it spot on, I just love it, and it will take pride of place!

I love this part of my work so much, the surprise making people happy.

Pastel on Canson, 17" x 17", frame size 21" x 21"

Hawk Azira

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 20:34:02 GMT

September 2020

I've spent today delivering three pieces to their respective owners. I don't think I've spoken face to face to so many people in one day since before lockdown! My brain is exhausted, so forgive the less than eloquent post! ��

Normally, I pack and courier the work, but two were big, and therefore a real nightmare and massively time-consuming to pack safely, so I decided a wee day trip delivering was easier, and I could add the third one in with a detour.

When they are couriered, I never normally see the reaction, so it was quite emotional watching them being received. All three of my clients commented how very much better the portraits are in the flesh, compared to the way that they photograph. I know it's something I bang on about all the time, but it's so frustrating as it really is true, and not just a sales pitch!

Anyway, this is Paddy, and his racing name is HAWK AZIRA. He's a good PTP horse, and I love his proper blood horse head. When I photographed him, he really did just own the space he was in, he totally stood there waiting for the worship! ��

I had a load of pics that I could have worked from, but this one nailed him for me.

I've included a pic of it framed up too - mount size 16" x 24" plus frame width, there is a gilt wooden slip on the mount window to lift the glass away from the surface of the artwork. This is one of my favourite walnut veneer mouldings, and I couldn't get it for a while, so I'm delighted it's back in stock!

Big thanks to Dennis Penny (I can't tag him, for some reason) for allowing me to work from his jumping photograph. ��

Kyle

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 20:34:01 GMT

December 2020

I do love a working collie, and here is the brilliantly marked Kyle. ��

There's a back story to this, as ever!

Louise contacted me to ask if I could do a surprise portrait for her father-in-law who had lost his pal the previous week. She said that they already contacted an artist who had turned the commission down because the photos weren't good enough. I've put the photos of Kyle I was sent in the comments.

I have been at this long enough to hopefully pull together enough information from not so great photos, but I have to say my heart sank when I saw them! I really don't like doing portraits with the tongue hanging out either, so I couldn't really work from the side one alone.

Anyway, I said I would give it my best shot, and that it might not be 100% accurate, if that was OK. So we agreed I would go ahead.

I pulled up old photos of mine for reference, and asked about the eye colour, and basically amalgamated everything I could into the finished piece.

I had that funny thing again, where I made a mark and suddenly knew it was right, even though I couldn't possibly really know. So I am really pleased with how it turned out, and the recipient was apparently delighted.

These days, I appreciate more and more that the best part of what I do is that my work can bring such pleasure to people. I know that sounds a bit trite and corny, but it really makes a difference to me.

I would ask, though, if any of you reading this think you might want a portrait doing in the future, please take some good photos now! Makes my life a lot easier! ��

Flying Finish (Christy)

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 20:34:00 GMT

September 2020

Today's picture is the one I offered as an auction prize for the George Crawford Legacy Trust Memorial Ball. The promise was generously bought by Richard Ames, as a present for his wife. ��

I was delighted to be able to do the wonderful Flying Finish (Christy), who I remember watching compete at Pau, both with Lucinda Fredericks and Caroline Powell respectively.

He was a very talented 4* star (old money) horse with a good international record. With Lucinda he ran in the London Olympics, and won Blair 3* the following year.

Various injuries curtailed his later career, and he's now in happy retirement with his owners in Ireland.

Tanja sent me the photos to work from, and she liked the look this shot gave. I'm always wary about side on pictures, there's no artistic escape from the bone structure! �� I've included the photo I worked from to give you an idea of what I'm referring to!

I'm really happy with the final piece, his intelligent head and alert expression made this one totally work!

For reference, frame size 16"x17", and again the lovely walnut veneer, in the redder shade. The gold slip protects the surface of the pastel.

Hope you enjoyed seeing him! ��

Digby and Sorn

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sun, 11 Sep 2022 20:34:06 GMT

6 December 2019

So I've had a top secret commission on the go recently, and it was given to the recipient last night at the AGM of the Riding Club he's retiring from.

Duncan Owen set up Lothians Riding club in 2002, and it has since gone from strength to strength. He has decided to call it a day this year after 17 years as Club Chairman.

The current Chairperson thought a portrait would be an ideal leaving present, so I was very flattered to be asked to do one. The decision was made to do his adored dogs, and I managed to arrange with his OH to sneak out to the house and photograph them when he wasn't there.

Both these lovely guys are in their twilight years, and somehow that makes it more important, to celebrate their lives well lived.

It's such a privilege to be asked to do something as special as this, when it means so much to a lot of people.

Digby and Sorn.

Aren't they gorgeous?

Luki

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sun, 11 Sep 2022 20:34:04 GMT

September 2020

So, here's the second pic of yesterday's delivery, the gorgeous Luki. ❤️

He is one of those golden horses, the unicorn rarity of the well behaved cob. He stood like a hero without a head collar, on the open beach, and didn't even try and whizz off.

I tried very hard to capture the wispiness of the mane and forelock, and i'm pleased with how he's turned out.

His absolute solidity of character, his generosity of spirit, just shone from him. I tried to capture that, I hope I have.

Beautiful inside and out.

Dee Dee and colours!

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sat, 10 Sep 2022 20:34:07 GMT

5 October 2019

This is a recent commission of the lovely Dee Dee. The portrait was a surprise present, so I didn't have access to the easiest photos to work from, and as the horse resides in Caithness, a trip to photograph wasn't really possible!

I was worried about the lack of detail in the neck looking really obvious on the normal grey green background, so I went with this dark colour, not too far removed from the colour of the horse herself. I'm really chuffed with how it's worked out, as changing background colours means the pastel gives a different optical colour to usual.

For a change I've put the working progress in, as it's astonishing with each stage how the camera reads the colours differently! I often say the camera doesn't really do the colours justice in my work, and I think what happens is an almost pointillist effect losing the base colours. The background colour change is mad!!

Anyway, hope you enjoy looking at her, isn't she lovely?!❤️

Five Heads

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sat, 10 Sep 2022 20:34:05 GMT

September 2020

This is the last of the portraits that I delivered on Thursday.

It was for a longstanding client, and I had already done an individual portrait of Betsy in the very distant past, when she was much younger.

It's so lovely to be asked to do repeat work, and to be trusted with something as important as this. All her horses, that she adores dearly, and all very different. ❤️

There are a few challenges working on multiple portraits. It sounds very basic, but it's important to get all the heads a similar size, but respective to their relative sizes. The composition needs to feel balanced, and a consistent colour tonality and standard of work across the entire picture is vital. No pressure, then!

I find it much harder to get the detail that makes each horse that 'person' in smaller pictures. There's not as much space to put all the information in, but I still try, and it probably takes me nearly a long as a larger head!

Cue very sharp pastel pencils!

I am so pleased with this, and I had quite a sense of achievement (and relief) at the end of it.

To give you an idea of size, the frame measure is 28'' x 19''.

Again, in the walnut frame, though the darker version, and this time with a muted silver slip which echoes the portraits better than a gilt one.

Hope you enjoy looking at it!

Tess and Leaving France

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 20:34:11 GMT

23 September 2019

My life this last month has been a tad tumultuous, what with the run up to Blair, the actual event, finally leaving France three days after that ��‍♀️�� with a monumental truck drive ��, buying a new place in Dunbar (seaside, but sadly no retirement!), organising myself for art classes, and trying not to meltdown at the same time!

So I have good excuses for my neglect of the blog ��

Back on track, at last I hope, here is the truly gorgeous Tess, who I photographed at the Game Fair in July.

She owns Michelle, who very kindly let me keep the portrait to exhibit at Blair, before she'd even seen it in the flesh, so a HUGE shout out to her for that!

Tess is totally gorgeous, and the photo has messed up the colour as ever, but those eyes, oh man, those eyes. They still work! ��

Socks

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Thu, 08 Sep 2022 20:34:15 GMT

18 Feb 2019

The smashing wee Socks!!

This was a surprise portrait for a friend of mine, as a Christmas present from her husband.

I took the photos mid summer, so I had asked if he was happy I went ahead and did the portrait right away, as I can't unfortunately do them all just before Christmas, and he was happy with that. He also mentioned that an early completion, with the picture was ready and waiting, might be useful if he blotted his copy book and needed extra brownie points before Christmas! ��

Socks' name is pretty self-explanatory, so it made sense to do the whole body as a shot, rather than just a head. I spent a fair amount of the afternoon lying in the garden trying to get the right angle and shot, all the time praying my friend wouldn't suddenly arrive home to find me prone on the lawn!

I'm so chuffed with the result, and it was fun to do a something a bit different for a change, with the collar and name tag adding a little bit of colour!

Fabulous wee dog!!

Zola

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Wed, 07 Sep 2022 20:34:17 GMT

December 2018

Today’s picture is the fabulous Zola. She was far too important to have her photo taken, there was so much more to be getting on with! However a little bit of perseverance and a sneaky capture on the chair, and I got the shot!

During her meanderings round the house, she sat for a while watching the world thro the French windows, and it was such an evocative photo, we decided to put it on the mount.

I love how her eyes are the same colour as her coat, and her person wanted the little frown she has incorporated, so there was plenty to ensure it was just ‘her’.

I’m delighted with how this turned out, I love the goldenness of it all, and the perfect match to the frame was the icing on the cake!

Otto The Groundsman

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Wed, 07 Sep 2022 20:34:16 GMT

31 January 2019

At the moment, I'm working in oils, on a biggish project, that seems to be turning into the equine equivalent to the Sistine Chapel!! Huge thanks to my client for showing such patience as I get used to the difference in the medium! ��

But ... that's not what I'm posting!

So ... I'm going to keep sharing stuff I did through the year, that's not yet been aired.

Back in the early summer, I was commissioned to do the leaving present for Harriet Graham, Groundsperson at Perth Racecourse. Hazel Peplinski wanted me to do a portrait of Head Groundshound, Otto, with some salient little drawings to reflect his job as Harriet's assistant. It was an absolute gift when Harriet posted a pic of Otto sat on the old weighing machine! I just had to steal that to do a wee drawing from!

We deliberated for ages about what to put on the drawing, and how to get photos without Harriet having any idea. I took some shots pre racing one morning, and managed to blag a story that didn't give the game away as I took masses of photos. She said recently she thought I just had big love for Otto! Which, of course, I do, he is just the coolest, dudest dawg in racing!

As ever, I forgot to take proper photos, so these are just quick iPhone ones.

The pic is currently hanging in the offices at Perth Racecourse, as Harriet has to finish up before she's allowed to take it home! ��

So here he is - It's Otto!!

Phoebe

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 20:34:19 GMT

12 August 2018

Fabulous Phoebe! ��

I recently finished two commissions of gorgeous Golden Retriever girls. They are so very different from each other, Libby has a very 'seen it, done it' attitude, and the younger Phoebe is still thoroughly astonished at the world, and can't sit still for an instant! Some very undignified poses were struck (me!!) trying to get their attention focussed in the right place to photograph!!

They live together in the same house, but I'm doing them one at a time because of how the blog works!

I think the two portraits show the huge range of character within one breed type and I'm delighted how they've turned out, although as ever, pale colours don't photograph at all well, and much of the tonality is lost.

Libby

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 20:34:18 GMT

!2 August 2018

Libby!

They live together in the same house, and I wanted to post them together, but the blog is tricky so I'm doing them one at a time.

Smoggy

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Mon, 05 Sep 2022 20:34:35 GMT

Tuesday, 19 September 2017

I photographed Smoggy a few years ago, not with a view to a portrait, but just so his little person, Rennie, could have some photos and not feel left out, whilst I photographed Pam's horse for the real deal of a portrait. Early this year, with the cruellest twist of fate, Smoggy was taken ill suddenly, and didn't survive. I was asked to do his portrait, for the family to have the complete set of all their horses together, and went to dig out the photos. I couldn't find them on my computer, memory cards, anywhere, and neither could Pam.

Thankfully, at a show the previous year, Adrian Sinclair had taken some lovely shots of him, and very kindly allowed me to work from them.

I drew the portrait up, went to start it and realised I'd drawn it up on the wrong side of the paper, the coarse side which doesn't allow me to work in such detail, so I turned the paper over and began again.

It's never as easy working from photos that I need to adapt, as what makes a great photo doesn't necessarily make a great portrait reference. I just keep making marks, and walking away and coming back, and trusting that it all comes together.

It's spooky sometimes, when I'm working, I become so involved that suddenly I feel the animal there, and that came through very strongly with Smog. I was so pleased with the finished piece, and sent the image for approval.

Then the bombshell, Pam loved it, but had I forgotten I was supposed to have done it on a black background? My heart missed a beat, and I couldn't believe I'd been so careless. However, all was well, the neutral background met with approval from Rennie, and I could breathe again. With hindsight, I genuinely believe the feel of the piece wouldn't have worked on black. Smoggy at work? Who knows!

I took the work off the easel, and got another shock, as there he was, staring out at me in outline from the backing board I work on! I'd unwittingly transferred the original outline onto the board when I'd worked the other side of the paper!

It made me smile, because I just loved the thought of Smoggy still making his mark.

Then the final hurdle, the suppliers had discontinued the frame I'd used for the other three horses, so I gilded and distressed a similar frame, to try and make the four portraits flow when hung together, so after much experimentation, he was finally finished, as below.

Such a beautiful pony, inside and out.

Tay

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Mon, 05 Sep 2022 20:34:29 GMT

Thursday, 18 January 2018

This is the very beautiful Tay.

Her commission came about in a novel way for me, as she was a surprise leaving present from a Veterinary practice to a departing member of staff. I had previously portrayed a dog for the the practice owners, and they thought a voucher for a portrait of the recipient's adored Labrador would go down well. I was of course delighted to oblige, and even happier to have such a glorious subject!

Tay is a gorgeous example of a Golden Labrador, but not only that, she has been a catalyst for me. I am very proud of this piece, the comment below is not because I'm unhappy with it at all, she's simply been the trigger, because of her colour. Bear with me, and I'll explain.

Portraiture has to be exact, I have to get it right. I have to portray the animal I'm commissioned to, not a generic breed type, or where my 'feel' wants to take me.

My technique of working with pastels and coloured pencils allows me to execute an extreme of detail not as feasible in paint. The downside to pastels is the limitation of the colour spectrum. Over the years, I've developed the skills to mix pastel blocking to achieve the shades I need. I've learned the colours that can't blend, due to the physical structure of the chalk or pastel, rather than the colour restrictions. I know the colours I can work on top of, and the colours I can't. I've worked within these parameters for years, but I'm increasingly becoming frustrated with what I want to do, and the colours I want to use that don't exist within this medium.

Colour is important, and I've honed my craft to such an extent that I think I mostly achieve what I'm trying to do, what is required. Sometimes, the block layer appeals to me more than the end portrait, but the detail is lacking and colours are never accurate enough, because the pencil work is what gives the depth and the texture to the finished piece. Frustratingly, the camera never captures that, not even with a professional photgrapher. It's a bit like trying to photograph velvet, the subtleties of tone vanish.

The reason this portrait was a bit of a game changer for me was how very easily the pastel colours for the blockwork flowed and blended at the first stage. Then, when I got to work on the detail, the limitations of standard colours again frustrated me. I worked through it, I know how to, but it has motivated me to look at more options. Below are the two stages of the piece, the block work and the finished one.

The newsflash is, I'm starting to do some pieces in oils. Only for myself at the moment, but I will blog the process when I'm happy with the finished work. I have thought for years that I'm trying to make pastels work like oils, to achieve that strength, depth and limitless colour that oils give. The ease of making the colours I need is inspiring; my ability to channel them, and work with a wet brush, somewhat less so!

If you got this far, thank you for reading, I hope it wasn't too long or dull, and I apologise to the stunning Tay for hijacking her blog post. ��

**IMPORTANT**

I have no intention of stopping working in pastels, so feel free to carry on commissioning me for the work that I'm known for!

Skase Race

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sat, 03 Sep 2022 20:34:36 GMT

Monday, 8 May 2017

Skase Rase was a PP (private purchase) New Zealand bred horse who ran and won in the top rated races in HK, he won over two million HKD.

Sadly, I didn't get to meet Skase Race in the flesh, as he was in Hong Kong and old age took him before I had the chance to return. After a great deal of scouring memory cards, deliberation, mind-changing and drop-boxing, we finally found/agreed a photo that I could work from, and the portrait on here is the result. I know how adored he was, and I hope I've managed to capture the beautiful soul that shone from his eyes.

Looking at the photos took me back in time. Skase Race was kept at one of the amazing facilities for horses leaving racing in Hong Kong, Beas River, where the XC phase of the 2008 Olympics was held. I have great memories of being there a few years before that, and riding some of the slightly excitable horses that were in the process of being rehabilitated to leisure horses. The indoor school had mirrors down the entire long side, ages before they were commonplace in the UK. It was the first time I'd watched myself being bronced with from one end of an arena to the other!

Vihara Du Causse

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 20:34:41 GMT

Thursday, 6 April 2017

Arthur, whose party name is Vihara du Causse, was a little more challenging than Scobie; he was a tad bemused at being pulled out to stand in the rain, but was very good once he realised all he needed to do was smile! He is extremely handsome, with the most wonderful, expressive eye, but that is really an irrelevance, as he is such an exciting horse to look to the future with. He had a great placing at Le Lion 2016 under Kevin McNab, and will be going forward to represent Hong Kong in the future.

The Navigator (Scobie)

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 20:34:38 GMT

Thursday, 6 April 2017

Nicole Pearson, who competes internationally under the Hong Kong flag, asked me to do portraits of her two very smart competition horses, Scobie and Arthur, at Pau, as well as the very much larger than life Pixie!

Of course it rained on the day that we elected to photograph, and it was also the swansong for my camera, which gave up the ghost immediately after I'd finished! Thankfully, despite circumstances conspiring against me, we managed to get the photos I needed.

Annoyingly, it also meant I didn't have my camera to take good photos of the completed work, so apologies for the quality!

First up was this amazing horse, Scobie, whose party name is 'The Navigator'.

He is such a lovely, kind horse, and has been the most solid and consistent competitor for many years, ensuring his place in history, by partnering Nicole to a Bronze medal in the 17th Asian Games in 2014. Me, I just adored him for being so good to photograph!

Eagle Regiment

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 20:34:37 GMT

Monday, 8 May 2017

Eagle Regiment was one of Hong Kong Racing's most talented racehorses. He was a PP (private purchase) from Australia. He had a stellar career on the track, winning over nine million HKD.

I'm so pleased I got to meet him when he was sent back to the UK for retirement. I travelled to photograph him, and he had a look about him that told you he knew he was a racehorse, he had that way about him that special horses have, the ones that know they've been good.

He was mildly woolly when I photographed him as his body was still adjusting to the change in hemisphere, however his quality still shone through his coat, and his intelligence was so clear in his eyes.

Absolute superstar of a horse.

RACEHORSE TO RIDING HORSE - THE ORIGINAL!

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 20:34:39 GMT

Monday, 19 December 2016

I was very chuffed to be asked to do a portrait of the lovely Harry, the horse that started Hannah’s eventing career.

Harry ran as Celtic Sage for about three seasons, winning a PTP at Southwell (that’s how long ago!). He retired from racing in 1995, and throughout his life has generally been an all-round good egg. His post-race, pre-Hannah tasks included foal-nanny surrogacy and and acting as lead horse for youngsters. He was Hannah’s first horse and they were both 12 years old when he went to her!

Teenager’s horses in the right homes have the best life, and he did side saddle, riding club camps, dressage and eventing. He jumped like a stag (Celtic Cone as his sire probably having a say in that) and competed up to open PC eventing.

When he retired from competition, he then had a couple of loan homes; leading kids and ponies out hunting, with his last job as a happy hacker. Harry retired properly when he was 25/26. You’ll (hopefully) see from the portrait what great shape he’s in for a 29 year old horse. Apparently there will be a big party in January for his 30th!

His longevity is testament to not only Hannah’s watching after him all these years, but to the TB horse as a breed. Correctly turned around after racing, they make fantastic horses. I managed to break my camera just before I finished this portrait, so I don’t unfortunately have a decent photo of it. This fairly poor one at the top from my phone will have to suffice!

Possibly the most amusing response from a client ever is detailed below!

Me: Can't wait for you to see it!

Hannah: So excited .... Just need to move house as I know EXACTLY where it's going!

Me: I do love a client that moves house to hang a picture ! ��

Happy Birthday for January, Harry!

WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 20:34:45 GMT

Tuesday, 6 December 2016

I feel privileged to have been asked to immortalise this beautiful horse, this incredible athlete who, in the company of so many others, had been spectacularly thrown from grace, discarded into the downward spiral suffered by horses in the UAE once their spirit and bodies are broken.

Meceva is now in the lap of luxury thanks to Suzanne fighting tooth and nail to remove him from Dubai. His registered FEI name is GORAN. He was bred in New Zealand then sold by Chris King, of Canterbury, as a 10yo in 2010 to Sheikh Mohammed, the founder of Godolphin. He was 'trained' in the AL AASFA complex - follow the link for comment by Greg Wood of the Guardian.

Suzanne had already managed to acquire another reject from Al Aasfa, Yogi. His registered FEI name was MAGIC GLENN SOVEREIGN, although he arrived without a passport. He was considered ‘too wild’ to be of any use and was for sale for about £1,000. He was bought from a horrible stable yard where a lot of the Sheik Mohammed horses end up. Because of the poor stable management, and the abusive riding, notwithstanding the lack of aircon in those extremes of heat, she made the decision to send Yogi back to the UK as soon as possible, fearing for his well-being given his recent medial splint bone fractures (both back legs) and previous pelvic fracture. Before shipping him out, she moved him to another more suitable yard, run by an Australian woman.

Knowing she was sending Yogi to safety, Suzanne thought to rescue another endurance horse and if possible one she could ride. She asked at the yard, and was told another nine had arrived the night before. There she found Goran - a big, grey horse, very thin, with a sunken chest and a drooping neck with what seemed an enormous head. Closer inspection revealed a network of whip marks across his quarters, and blistering on a leg. Suzanne fell for him immediately, as despite all the abuse he’d suffered, he was still sweet and gentle. You can see the awful state in the three photos to the right under the portrait.

As happens across the world with big racing/equestrian outfits, passports often disappear, and the big owners don’t want abuses traced back to them (and how well do I know about that at the moment). He had no value, he was a difficult ride, and eventually the then 'owner' gifted him to Suzanne. However, as he'd originally been in Sheik Mohammed's ownership, it took Suzanne a long time and a great deal of difficulty to get the letter of ownership that would allow her to move him back to the UK when she left. By sheer luck, she also managed to acquire his passport when the Australian woman was sacked, and the new manager took over. This was still not enough, and the UAE NF tried to prevent Suzanne moving him out of Dubai (no wonder). After discussions at FEI and EU level, a lot of help from the international transporters and a fortuitous timescale of a UAE official going on holiday, Suzanne finally managed to get him out of the hellhole.

The phot on the left is him now, in his safe UK home.

So, to bring this story up to date, I went to photograph Goran in August.

The scars across his quarters are still visible, the mental scars manifest in his behaviour and reactions, but for all that, he is still a very beautiful horse. He fills the eye with quality and class, he has exceptional movement, and such presence and generosity of spirit.

I'm no stranger to being asked to portray top-level horses, or sticking my head above the parapet for equine welfare wherever I can. It's not often both worlds collide, however.

Recently, much of my welfare focus has been highlighting the sickening abuse suffered by Endurance horses in the Middle East. I’ll spare readers the stomach churning details here, but for those interested, the more palatable reports are documented on the WRITING WRONGS website and FB page.

Goran could have done anything - dressage, eventing, showing. Instead, he was just more cannon fodder for Sheik Mohammed, run into the ground. I know that those who read this blog don’t necessarily read the welfare stuff, but sharing this might help highlight what really happens to horses in Dubai.

Mostly, I’d like it to persuade those with even a smidgeon of conscience not to sell any more horses to the UAE.

TOMTASTICTURBOCOB

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Mon, 29 Aug 2022 20:34:46 GMT

Friday, 16 September 2016

Many moons ago I did a portrait for Sue, of her fabulous horse of a lifetime, Count Rostov. She had a significant birthday coming up, so contacted me to do another portrait, this time of her second horse of a lifetime, the wonderful Tom.

I feel privileged to have been asked to portray him, although it was looking like a bit of a nightmare at one point as we couldn't track down the 'tog who'd taken the photo I wanted to work from! I love how he has that casual leg cross in front, that to me always signifies a natural, confident jumper. Pleas on Facebook, and lots of helpful people in the Scottish eventing community eventually tracked down Thane Rudi Brooker, who was extremely generous in allowing me to work from his photograph. So a huge thanks to him!

Tom has a brilliant life story with Sue, and it's worth a share.

Sue was finding her hips were giving her too much pain to ride, and as she had to have competition in her life she took up driving. The first driving horse was apparently talented but a tad scary, so she decided to a find nicer pony to play with!

After finding an ad for a coloured cob from gypsy stock on A1 north of Luton, she flew down to see the pony. He turned out not to be suitable, but on nosing around, she found a just gelded, 4yo Tom in a back stable. His sire was a trotter stallion with mane to his knees! She really liked Tom, but he wasn't for sale. Clearly there was some serious persuading going on, as she managed to try him for 10 mins (with a plane to catch) and convinced the owner to sell him to her.

This was however, early in 2001 and there was a race against time to get him up the road before the country shut down due to foot and mouth. He was the last load Gillies delivered before the transport ban and had to be dropped at the road end due to all the precautions.

Tom proved to be the perfect gent to drive, they started competing and got to doing FEI singles and was long listed for the GB team for the World Championships.

He was so special, that when Sue emigrated to Australia, she took Tom with her and had the thrill of her first Oz driving event only being at the Sydney Olympics XC site! Then, when she came home again to Scotland (oh, how I understand that desire!), he came back with her.

After her first hip replacement, she found driving a 'faff' so thought she'd try riding again and was delighted to have no pain. So having no event horse, thought to give Tom a try under saddle. He took to it like a duck to water, went BE, and other than once was never lower than 4th, always going clear XC, and only twice clipping rails show jumping over 2/3 yrs. He qualified for the Grassroots class at Badminton but Sue was over qualified having competed at 4*. After a second hip operation, Tom went on loan to a chum to hack/pc.

The years of driving had taken their toll a bit, so they concentrated on SJ instead. In 3 years he'd won most of his classes (twice has won 9 on the bounce), been in the top 3 in 85% of his starts, is now out of Foxhunter classes on winnings, and is nearly Grade B! He's now just jumping 90/100 opens as age is catching up with him, but what a fabulous little horse!

In Sue's words - "He outdoes his physical ability with his huge heart and generous spirit. He is awesome. Like having your childhood perfect pony back (he is 14.2), safe as houses but a winning machine, perfect for an ageing ex-event rider to live the dream."

I think he's just as lucky as Sue, to have found such a brilliant home.

The Eyes Have It

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sun, 28 Aug 2022 20:34:47 GMT

Friday 15 April 2016

On a trip to photograph, I took some extreme windswept photos of Vaila, a little orange Shetland girl.

I was highly amused at the time, and I do remember glibly commenting that they'd make a fantastic portrait, never thinking that my client, Jo, would actually want me to work from them.

Well, sometimes, the chickens just come home to roost.

I photographed her two horses that day: Kerry, a lovely big bay warmblood cross mare, and Vaila of the mane. Once home, and having worked through the photos, I sent them to Jo and we discussed how I was going to do the portrait. Jo was determined she wanted them together, liked the heads-on shots, and much as I tried to gently dissuade her she was adamant. As 'the customer is always right', I agreed, but inside I was dying a death because I had no idea how I'd make it work.

Individual portraits are relatively simple. If the execution is good, all vagaries of light and colour are insignificant. Put two horses into the mix, and immediately you have several contrasting elements to consider.

The light needs to be (or appear to be) the same - both from direction of source and time of day. Light is colder (blue) in the morning or when overcast, and warmer (yellow/red) in the evening. Bright sunlight can be bleaching, and poor light loses detail.

The heads must be at angles that complement each other, and the colours of the horses compatible.

If their heads are markedly different in size, there's necessarily a fair degree of practice and juggling that goes on to make sure the balance works on paper.

Chestnuts are notoriously difficult to match with other horses.

Head on shots dictate that the eyes and muzzle have to tell the whole story, which is fairly tasking.

Wind blowing manes in different directions is also challenging.

Yup.

I won't lie and say it was a walk in the park, because it wasn't, and I had the whole 'I can't do this' (artist's version of writer's block) running through my head a fair whack of the time. It was only really in the last few hours that it all fell into place and I knew I'd nailed it. I am more than delighted with the end result, and it's often the case that the works that test me the most end up being my most successful.

A huge thanks to Jo for pushing me (albeit unknowingly) out of my comfort zone, and to Kerry and Vaila for saving me with their beautiful eyes!

Hong Kong Revisited

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Sat, 27 Aug 2022 20:34:49 GMT

Thursday 10 September 2015

About twenty years ago, I was lucky enough to work periodically in Hong Kong, doing portraits of racehorses, livery horses and many cherished four-legged friends for clients living there.

The opportunity came about after I was asked to do a portrait for two HK charities, RDA and KELY, to be auctioned at the ROA (Racehorse Owners Association) annual dinner, held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in October of 1994. It was decided that the subject would be the then last eight Derby winners entitled 'PRIDE OF THE DERBY' as eight is considered a lucky number in Hong Kong.

I worked on the portrait for several weeks but due to the time taken to finish the piece, there wasn't any guarantee that a photo of the work sent overland would arrive in time to be included in the brochure for the dinner. It has brought it home to me how far technology has advanced in the last 20 years, as there was no facility in 1994 to send a large image via email! Hard to believe nowadays!

I was very nervous, as I had no idea how much the portrait would raise, but my fears were totally unfounded as the bidding was fast and furious and the final bid was from Ronald Arculli for HK$350,000. Hence my enormous grin in the photo below!

The portrait was the horses listed below. I felt very privileged not only to have been commissioned, but to have met some of these amazing horses. On one of my subsequent visits to Beas River, where the ex racehorses are rehabilitated, I was honoured to be allowed to ride Clear City. It's not often one gets the chance to say one's ridden a Derby winner!

The portrait now hangs in the Clubhouse at Sha-Tin racecourse, generously donated to the HKJC by Ronald Arculli.

E-Mafiosa

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Fri, 26 Aug 2022 20:35:01 GMT

6 August 2018

Another portrait that's finally reached destination, and the stunning Mafi was a really interesting one for me to do, as she is a Lusitano mare, and I haven't done one, bar my own, before!

She's a proper mare, we had a bit of a 'thinking outside the box' time photographing her. The food rustling as motivation didn't really work as she had no qualms about marching to the food!

We let her run about the round pen, and after some pointed reminders from her that she really wasn't up for it, we got some great shots!

She's different to any other grey I've photographed, I don't know if the breed type causes a different colour, or if it's simply coincidence, but my usual grey palette didn't flow, so I had to work in some other tones.

She has the Lusitano 'beak' but not as pronounced as some, and I wanted this angle to make sure her powerful profile was apparent.

Anyway, here's the finished piece, the very striking Mafi!

Delivering Prys

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Fri, 26 Aug 2022 20:34:50 GMT

Friday 12 June 2015

Two years ago, I offered a portrait to the organisers of the Campbell Gillies Memorial Ball, held to raise funds for the IJF, who were a fantastic support to Campbell's family after his tragic death on holiday the previous year. The portrait raised £1500, and the subject of the photo was to be Jo Luton's stunning Prys, who sadly moved on to the pastures in the sky just before the ball.

I realise two years is a long time to come to fruition, but we had some difficulties finding good photos to work from, and then organising those photos to get to me. I ended up collecting them in person from Scotland last year. It wouldn't be one of the easiest portraits I've tackled, and I knew Prys (and Jo), so had to get him right.

There wasn't enough information on any of the photos to do one head portrait, and they were too far back in the photographer's records for him to find and to blow up from the negatives, so I worked from a jumping photo (with very kind permission from John Grossick, photographer extrordinaire!) and a snap Jo had of him, which to both of us summed his character up.

I then started the portrait the way I normally work on commission, with the paper colour that most of my clients prefer. For us artists, most times we start a piece of work there is the extreme self-doubt, the worry that it isn't working, and the dawning of relief that it is all coming together.

Only this time, it wasn't working, it didn't work, relief didn't dawn and and I had to scrap it. It looked heavy and clumsy and the colours were warring.

I then wanted to panic, of course. I had to walk away for a bit and decide what to do. ( I can't believe I've actually posted it, but I thought it might be interesting, even though I wince when I see it!)

Often when I do two different heads of two different horses together, it can be tricky getting the colour right (as an aside, black horses beside chestnut horses are REALLY awkward). In this instance, I think the lack of information combined with the amount of shadow in the photos, and the seasonal coat colour change, made it very hard to pull both images together.

I left it a few weeks, revisited, and thought that maybe working on a black paper where I could allow the shadow to disappear into the background might be a solution, so I ran with it, and I think it worked.

Once the portrait is finished, in an instance like this it can also be difficult to frame well. Finding one frame that highlights the same colours on both heads can be a challenge. Clever framing will lift certain areas of a piece of work, and bad framing will make the eye see only the frame. However gorgeous a frame may be, on a portrait it must enhance, not override.

I think I nailed it.

A Tribute To Carnacrack

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Thu, 25 Aug 2022 20:34:52 GMT

A Tribute to Carnacrack Originally published Sunday 19 October 2014

A couple of years ago, I was contacted to do a portrait of a horse for a surprise birthday present. This in itself wasn't unusual, but when I found out who the horse was, I was so chuffed to be asked.

The horse was Carnacrack (or 'Crackle' to his friends). He'd been owned and trained all his racing career by friends of mine, Sandy Forster and Clive Storey, and was only ever ridden by Clive. He was bred in the Scottish Borders and was by the prodigious local stallion Le Coq D'Or out of a mare by another weel kent name from Scottish racing pedigrees, New Brig.

Crackle was a horse I'd followed throughout his career running at the Northern tracks, and was such an honest consistent jumper with the biggest heart. He always looked a picture in the paddock and was just a pleasure to watch.

When he was retired from racing, he ending up in the care of Irene Thomson, and was loved and cherished by the Thomson family until the day he left for those big green pastures up there in the sky.

When Irene's husband, Beamer, contacted me to commission me, it was a bit tricky in the early stages. Keeping the portrait a surprise involved secret emails, secret phone calls, secret photograph finding and adding to the mix Beamer's slightly challenged internet skills, I was despairing that I would be able to do Crackle justice. After much skulduggery, the picture was finished and the portrait handed over in secret rendezvous in a garden centre car park south of Edinburgh!

Thankfully, Irene was really pleased with the picture - but bear with me, there's a reason I'm blogging this now!

Yesterday, Sun 18th October, at Kelso races, Irene sponsored a race in memory of Crackle, the 'Carnacrack Handicap Hurdle'. She'd asked if I minded her using a photo of the portrait for the racecard sponsorship. I of course agreed without hesitation. I was so pleased and flattered that she wanted to use the picture!

It's been beautifully done, with such a lovely piece written underneath. I got such a big lump in my throat when I saw it.

Don't Irene's words just sum it up about these beautiful horses?

A Funny Thing Happened ...

183:929835465 (Jenny Lupton) — Wed, 24 Aug 2022 20:34:53 GMT

A Funny Thing Happened... Originally published Wednesday 8 October 2014

Yesterday, I received the loveliest message from a client, Val, who collected the portrait of Princess Rosie a couple of weeks ago and had finally hung her on the wall.

Rosie - still with us - has been somewhat challenging to photograph, totally unfazed by everything, and looked at us as if we were daft trying to get her to put her ears up.

She's quite grey now, but the flow of the drawing let me easily give her some of previous colour back, and it was lovely to do a less than conventional expression for a change! (As a bonus, it's actually two portraits in one, as if you look closely you can see Mr Rosie's silhouette in the reflection in the eye!)

So, to the point - the message. Val has very kindly allowed me to use it on the Testimonials page.

**Jenny's portrait of Rosie (a difficult subject as it took a year and near enough 200 photos plus an assignation in a carpark to get a usable photo) is perfect! When I saw it I was reduced to tears, but in a good way as it is really her looking out at me. We brought her home and hung her on the wall next to her beloved Sammy (he was also painted by Jenny) who went over Rainbow Bridge three years ago. This may sound spooky but I swear this is true - her expression changed from the "whatever" look she had in the photo/portrait to one of contentment that she is reunited with him again.**

I was blown away by what she said, not only because it was incredibly kind and flattering, but also because it shook me slightly.

I work in such detail, that I necessarily immerse myself into the work. I do sort of disappear from what goes on around me and am guided by the feel of the personality I'm portraying.

When I am working from photos of animals that I have never seen, and are no longer with us, I have no personal point of reference to know when I catch the moment of character, or the soul. But often one final touch of colour or line as I work seems to surge a huge emotional response in me. That's when I know to stop messing with it. I accept that as part of what I do, and don't really dwell on it.

I'm mildly spooked, but also pleased that it seems to have gone further than me in this case. I hope Sammy's happy too!