Mostly Mustangs

When I was young, a good 90% of my drawings were of horses. I found the variety of breeds, the spectrum of colourings and social behaviours so interesting.

I suppose that I’m reconnecting with that fascination. I’ve always been drawn to their majesty, intelligence and beauty, characteristics embodied so strongly by the wild mustangs. There used to be two million wild horses across America and now there are less than 50,000 in the wild, the same number that are currently in Bureau of Land Management (BLM) holding pens. These iconic and impressive animals waste away in overcrowded pens or are sent to Mexico or Canada to be rendered for their meat, freeing the land for livestock grazing or mining.

“Wild Wrangles” is of two McCullough Peak stallions, Tupi & Tomahawk. American photographer Susan Goudge (whose image reference I used here) told me that Tupi died in 2024 and Tomahawk was rounded up and removed from the open plains he used to roam.

Proceeds from this painting went to support Sky Dogs Ranch & Sanctuary which rescues mustangs from the kill pen and gives them safe space to live.

“Gathering Storm” 100x120cm oil on canvas (available) depicts a small mustang family, coming together in a safe embrace as the dark clouds gather behind them, which also represents the growing threat to mustangs and their wild habitat.

Both ‘Wild Wrangles’ and ‘Gathering Storm’ are paintings I created with reference images from mustang photographer Susan Goudge.