Racing – Percheron Horse and Paradise Flycatcher

Created: 2010
Medium: Charcoal and pastel pigment on linen, sealed to board with layered glazes, metallics and crackle finishes

Set within a misty shoreline landscape, Racing captures an unexpected moment of movement and harmony between two very different creatures. A powerful Percheron draft horse gallops while a small Paradise Flycatcher races alongside it, their motion echoing one another across the soft grey atmosphere.
The artwork explores the idea of music translated into image and movement. The horse embodies the deep, rhythmic bass, its heavy stride resonating like thunder across the landscape. In contrast, the delicate bird becomes the high treble note, swift and bright as it darts through the air.
The misty coastal environment softens the scene, almost like a natural amplifier that carries and blends these visual “notes.” Through subtle textures, layered glazes and delicate tonal shifts, the painting transforms a simple race into a poetic expression of rhythm, contrast and balance in nature.
This evocative equine and wildlife artwork celebrates the surprising harmony that can arise between strength and lightness, scale and speed.