Fantasy oil painting “Miniature horse”

fantasy oil painting of miniature white horse, pewter, grapes and book.
Fantasy oil painting “Miniature horse” ©YueZeng2023

Initial thoughts

The author of sci-fiction “Three Body Problem”, Liu, Cixin (刘慈欣) also has written many other fictions. One of them mentioned a miniature Pegasus that was created by a biologist. The miniature Pegasus could run on a desk and ate fruits.

I like this idea. It has been over a decade since the first time I read the article (I am a fan of sci-fiction stories since my high school age). But I still remember this little miniature white horse with wings. So, why not try to paint it?

Digital sketch

When I try to put things together in this digital sketch, I choose regular white horse rather than Pegasus. When you see a Pegasus, of course you think it would fly. However, in Liu‘s fiction, the miniature Pegasus cannot fly. It’s wings are only decoration. I want the viewer has the feeling that this miniature white horse could run over the book to get the grapes.

Another change in the actual painting is the horse’s tail. The final white tail brings a little live motion and made color consistent.

fantasy painting digital sketch with pewter
Digital sketch of Fantasy oil painting “Miniature horse” ©YueZeng2023

Summary

Well, horse is more difficult than furry animals such as cat, dog, lion, tiger, wolf and so on. Horse has more muscles that can create shadow, especially on it’s face and legs.

But I still love to paint horse. ❤

I hope you enjoy this little white horse.

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My paintings are an outlet to express the imagination I have inside my head that I can not put into words. After trying many mediums, I always find myself coming back to paint and brushes. In my current artistic practice, I use oil paint and mainly create portraits of mythical creatures and animals transfixed in the shifting colours of seascapes and landscapes. There is a natural spirit and magic to these creatures and their energy draws me in. Choosing to paint these creatures as real living wildlife rather than abstractions, I use bold and vivid colours to express the imaginary intertwined with reality, finding magic between the seams. Using a saturated colour palette, I create bold and striking imagery, contrasted between foreground and background, subject and landscape, and light and darkness. Weaving their bodies and the surface of the landscape into each other through organic forms and flowing brush strokes, I find beauty, strength and innocence in these creatures that reflect my inner world.