I’ve put my monocle on it as I am happy it’s finished. I will now put it aside for a few weeks to let the paint dry.

Third day. I’ve lived with the painting for a few days now. I put it aside and did something else. I often do this as it helps me come back to the painting with fresh eyes and mind.

Final session. I felt the picture needed something up on the top right to balance the image on the canvas. I used dark Prussian with black to put in the details of the mane. I did more work to the neck to bulk it out and softened the contrast on the bridle fringe.

I’m keen to see how many edges I can soften into the background and still get away with it. I love playing with this technique as I think it really adds to the three dimensional effect and helps to harmonise the picture.

I put in the bridle fringe on the front of the head. It’s come out more sharp than I had intended, I may wait a few days until the paint has dried, then I can add some colour glaze over the top to soften it a little.

I’m pleased with all the straps and buckles – I’m sure all these bits and bobs have names, I’ll have to find out more about them so I’ve less chance of missing out something important.

I’m going to do some more to the neck as I want to show the full glory of that huge muscle and emphasise that cocked head. The bridge of the nose needs some work too, I think I need to distinguish it from the background more.

Day two. The pace of work has slowed considerably. I’m spending more time standing back and studying the balance of things. I had my fun on day one - I now have to think.

I’m trying to keep the focal point to the front of the head – into the light, but at the same time not fuss too much over the detail.

The first day on this painting I dived straight in. I didn’t do any preliminary sketch I just mixed up some Prussian blue and got the shadow areas in place.

I then enjoyed being flippy – flappy with the big brushes and seeing how the colours mixed. This gave me a base foundation and a feeling for how the image will look on the canvas. Colours: Prussian Blue, Lamp Black, Magenta and Titanium White.

Unfortunately I don’t have any photos of the initial stages of this painting. The blog idea came to me in a flash of inspiration during the first day. So this is my first attempt at writing a blog (should I stick to painting?).

I started with a new 92cm x 73cm canvas and first drowned out the white cotton canvas finish with a nice bright magenta red colour. The theory being, I wanted this warm tone to sit underneath the painting and even come through in parts just to add a bit of drama and contrast to all that cool blue.

horse head in blue

At the Periana romaria in May this year I managed to shoot some more photographs of the horse activities.

I singled out this photograph as I was drawn to this stallion’s magnificent head.

I had been looking for an excuse to explore one of my favourite oil colours – Prussian blue. It’s an amazing colour; it looks black straight from the tube but just add a touch of white and you get a deep deep blue.

I wanted to mix these shades of blue with greys and reds and punctuate them with blacks and whites, this should add mood and mystery to a portrait of a stunning horse.