Beautiful work Crystal.. thank you soo much for sharing it with us..

Thank you, and you're welcome!

Lot more work done today:
Added part of the backside of the chaps...
Made the horse a little lighter/brighter brown...
Made the saddle bag larger...
Put the rolled up slickers behind the saddle...
Painted in a couple of straps and rings
made the saddle blanket shorter...
Oh and the lasso...

The light patches on the horse will get glazing (thin coloured layers)

QUESTION: is the rim of his hat too small? What do you think?

I'm no expert but IMO the hat brim looks just fine..

it's really coming to life..

Thank you so much, Merry!
I always like sharing while I'm still working on something :) It's as if I'm not painting by myself, and that feels quite good.
But you're right, most people would post the finished painting and that's it.

Thanks you, Zee!
Also for telling me it's called a hat brim :)

Oh My.. I hadn't even noticed you had said Rim instead of Brim..

Thank you, OldCoot! Very kind :) I'd missed your post, but very much appreciated!

ZEE Oh well, it's only one letter difference, haha.
In some cases that could make a helluva difference, lol.


OT ..... Lot more done this afternoon even though it doesn't show in detail.
I had to work the horse many times, couldn't get it right. As it is right now I'm quite happy with it. Probably won't do anything on it anymore except for the top line of its neck, the light part.

He now has a buckle belt, watch on his belt, fixed the stirrup, did his hands but one doesn't show well enough so I'll have to do it again.
And I added press studs on the chaps and small buckles on the saddle bag.
I think that's about it.

I'm stuck with the part of the saddle underneath/behind his rear end.
Its colour is very close to his chaps. Not sure how I am going to make it stand out more.

No more painting tonight though. I'm shattered, hihi. Doing the horse really took up a lot of time.

Here's today's update :)
He's got a face. And eyes. YAY!
Face looks a bit overlit as I just took this photo and had to use the bright light that I also use while painting.
I'll see tomorrow whether I'm happy with the face or not. Am too tired now.

Will have to work on the ear.
I hate painting ears, hihi. I wished everyone had a haircut that covered the ears so I wouldn't have to paint them, lol.

The horse is done! I finally got the head the way I wanted it. Was a struggle, but now I'm finally happy with it :D

What remains is details on the bridle.
I also finished the back cinch :)

progress looks good Crystal

As an old time trail rider (mah maternal aunt worked summers for years at a trail-riding-by-the-hour outfit, just outside of town), I remember saddles age with use and the leather darkens considerable - almost burnt sienna in many cases, though they do make black leather saddles as well.
Perhaps darken the saddle leather to better differentiate it from the leather chaps?

<Goes back to rimming his ice cream cone treat.>

hmmmm...hella cod piece the oldcoot is wearing there, Crystal, or is that just his natural "Weapon of Miss-destruction"?¿?

Nah, the saddle is relatively new. And making it dark will be a problem as the horse is also dark brown.
Burnt sienna is not dark, not in paint anyways. It's the base colour of the chaps, pure sienna is the colour of the back cinch.

The chaps were actually a slightly different brown but I wanted them to really pop so I went for a base of burnt sienna :)

Almost done! Just a few details left to do, which no doubt will still take me quite some time, hihi.

Changed the face a little bit as it wasn't quite right, fixed the ear as well.

Re-did the back- & foreground then started that dust. Was hard work as the largest brush that works for me isn't nearly large enough for that, but yeah... The size brush I'd need for that would cost me some $45.

Anywho, I'm really happy with what I've got now!

Crystal, like Zee said the Hat Brim is just right...

I know you are still working on your painting it is coming out great...

My only suggestion is google a picture of a horse bridle for they have a piece that goes over the top of their nose and under their chin.. that is part of the bridle..At times the bridle has silver on them to match with the saddle..

Ohh and saddle horn is missing from the saddle, unless it is a Mexican Saddle..

Just a suggestion... I had horses for 17 years..

Ohh and I would not have changed the color of the saddle either...

it cud also be an English saddle.. there's no saddle horn on those..

but you ARE right.. part of the bridle is missing over the nose and under the chin... plus the silver 'bridle bit' is missing too.. upon closer scrutiny..

had horses myself for awhile.. english mostly, only 1 western.. but typically chaps are used with western saddle horses so ya might wanna add a horn Crystal.. just sayin.. lol

it is looking amazing tho.. Kudos on yer progress

Thank you for your feedback! :)
And yup, I have yet to do the horn.

The bridle... traditional Western / cowboy bridles typically do not have nosebands. I Googled that especially to be sure as over here, with English saddles, the bridles do have nosebands, so the absence struck me as odd. But it is correct.
Also according to the example photo I'm using.

In Western riding the horses are trained to be ridden with neck reining.
No noseband is also more comfortable for the horse.

As for the rest... the bridle isn't finished yet. I'll make it a wee bit wider and it still needs small buckles here and there.
I have another clearer photo for that so I put them in the correct place, hihi.

I am in two minds about adding a tail and maybe showing some manes to give it more sense of motion. It shouldn't look as if the horse is standing still :/
But not sure yet.
Feel free to give me your opinion on that. Do it or not?

Thank you, Zee!
As for the horn and bridle... not finished yet :)
And typically a traditional Western bridle does not have a nose or chin band :)

Also for you the question... should I add a tail and waving manes to give it more sense of motion or not?
Or in other words... as it is, does it seem as if the horse is standing still?

I guess I'm more used to the English style that without that nose strap.. it looks odd to me.. but you know best having done the research..

mind you.. here's a pic of a western bridle so.. I guess some have it and some don't.. this one seems to be without a bit tho..


I'd go with a tail and some mane to show the movement.. but that's just me..

It looks odd to me as well as here in Europe you only see English saddles AND normal reins, stirrups and bridle.
But I watched 6 seasons with approx 12 episodes per season of him riding his horse with this saddle and bridle.
Then I looked it up, as I was like WTH???, and turns out traditional Western bridles are like this :)
And believe me, if you'd watch the show (reality)... the man is by far the best rider I've ever seen! A professional cowboy from Alberta.
I think he was born on a horse, haha.


As for the rest, I think I'll indeed add tail & movement to the manes to show motion.
Thanks!

if he's from Alberta then yeah.. he probably WAS born on a horse that's where all our Canadian Cowboys come from.. yeee-Ha LOL