February 2025’s Blog
When do raisins become a necessary component of your art supplies? Answer: when you come across a field of ponies who might require a small treat in exchange for a picture!
After spending the last ten years or so investigating all of the footpaths surrounding Dinedor Hill, I was surprised this weekend to find a style I’d never seen before. It nestled in a hedgerow on the hill's south-facing crest. I must have walked around that hill over 500 times; how could I have missed it so many times before? This was it if I ever needed a sign that I was on the right track. I eagerly clambered over, knowing that this path away from home would most certainly turn a 4-mile trek into a 6- or 7-mile one. But the sky was clear blue, the winter sun was energising, and the time was ripe to keep going.
And as a reward, I found myself in a field with what I believe were Welsh ponies. The first one began to walk casually towards me until they were all about me. Some were more cautious than others, but a couple were very eager to let me pet them. A couple of shyer, younger ones hung back. I believe the older dominant ones were the most inquisitive. Although it wasn't exactly like I was an intrepid adventurer in the wild jungles of Borneo, discovering an incredibly rare wild species of monkey or some other near-extinct creature, this small discovery was just what I needed.
I was determined to return the next day with my camera and a few tiny treats. As is customary, after one magnificent day of sunlight, the UK weather will ensure we don't get too comfortable by instilling a blast of cold air, hail, and sleet, which is exactly what happened the following morning. But I wasn't deterred and ventured out earlier than the day before to find the ponies again.
I half expected them to be in their stable, safe from the cold elements, but was relieved to see them waiting for me, closer to the footpath than yesterday.
They nibbled softly off the palm of my hand as I pulled a few small handfuls of raisins from the inside pocket of my coat. There were maybe eight or nine of them, and it was a lot of fun being surrounded by them. I snapped at random because it was impossible to line up a good photo consciously among the mild commotion; all I had to do was point and shoot and hope that something turned out well. They liked the camera; it's adorable when horses or ponies lick or sniff the lens because they look so cute head on.
Fortunately, the 35mm lens with a wide aperture angle produced a few good close-ups with attractive fuzzy backgrounds. When I got home, I quickly downloaded the images on the big screen and was relieved to discover that three or four of the 14 photos were rather interesting. So, having just finished Full Gallop at Daybreak, with its sophisticated racehorse as the focal point, I wanted to do something at the other end of the spectrum and get stuck into a close-up portrait of the rugged ponies, with their long tousled manes cascading across one side of their cute little faces in the cool winter breeze. Using my own reference images usually makes the finished artwork more precious to me since I feel a stronger connection.
So I believe the raisins were the most valuable tool in this particular art project; the ponies deserved a small reward for being such nice, willing subjects.
The finished artwork of the ponies - “ABBA Ponies” - is below…
My soft pastel painting of the ponies on Dinedor Hill is named "ABBA Ponies" because of their ABBA-esque posture!
