new horse book for me when it came in), their anatomy, illnesses and cures, and as I learned to ride, I created my drawings and paintings full of the vision, imagination, and love I already had for them. This has truly defined my signature artistic style. I realize now that I am painting those horses, the horses I never had. I was told once that horses chose me, and that my horses exist somewhere between heaven and earth. My horses are stylized and imaginative, abstract and sometimes whimsical, expressing the allencompassing energy of the horse, which is inspirational for me. Their joy for life, sense of companionship and family “herd” nature, with a willingness to work combined with beauty, sensuality, and freedom – they exude the values I enjoy in life.
H&S: Did you ever doubt that you were meant to be an artist?
H&S: Do you conceptualize your work first, or do you just start painting and see what emerges?
DB: I was in business for many years, in both advertising and real estate. So, following my art as a full-time career is relatively new. I think doubts are common, but we just keep on keeping on, don’t we? When I create custom works for clients and am able to create for them exactly what they are looking for, or a person sees in my work their own horse or a dream one, that level of recognition is a tremendous high. It keeps me focused, knowing I truly have something special to offer. As I say, in my art it is not horses that I paint; I paint the way they make me feel – and everyone responds to that on some level. Art is all about how it makes you feel, for both the artist and the viewer.
DB: Both. But what is interesting is that sometimes I have had a very specific vision of what I am trying to paint, and I think I see it, and then through the process I go way off-track from that. And by the time it is complete, although the piece is different than I originally pictured, the feeling it expresses is exactly what I wanted to say! This proves I didn’t really know what saying what I wanted would look like, but I was capable of achieving it. Art is amazing! Somehow horses and their forms are branded onto my soul, and although I often see a horse move in a way that inspires me or see a picture with a shape that influences me, my memory will keep that shape alive and incorporate it