Horses trump Chickens

We had visitors at the workshop...big ones. And curious, too! 


Our local plein air artists organization, The Chestnut Group, presents a wonderful array of workshops at very affordable cost each year, one of which I attended last month. Anne Blair Brown demonstrated how to do a quick and loose plein air study to use as a reference for a larger studio piece. It was a beautiful rural setting just outside of Nashville with stone walls, pastures, barns and a picturesque home...oh, and horses. 


I learned some things that day about horses, such as: they are herd animals, they are very curious, they like to nibble on car handles, wipers and mirrors, and they get pretty lively when the cooler, fall weather hits. There were about 25 cars to choose from and they messed with a few of them. It wasn't long before a couple of the bolder horses decided to take a closer look at the painting business. 


Mercifully, I was safely in the middle of the human pack and the equines kept their friendly tormenting at the outer edges. It was all quite entertaining until the kicking started (horse on horse, thankfully!) There was a horsewoman in our midst who jumped to the rescue, waving and shooing them off, much to our relief. I don't mind a little wild life, but I think I will stick to chickens, thank you very much.