wonderful suggestions that immediately improved my work, all the while remaining supportive and encouraging.” Matisoff struggled for two years to get things right. “A painting is a likeness, of course; but painting is also interpretation. I had to make my horses come alive, so I painted them in motion.” Finally came the painting that was the apex, the one she felt she could look at and say “Damn, that’s good!” Before the Race was her first professional-quality painting. It was indeed alive and in motion. She was an equine artist. She refers to her style as Impressionist/ Realist, a term she coined herself. “A true Impressionist doesn’t use black,” she says, “nor am I exactly a realist, because I exaggerate colors and motion. I find myself heading more into the Impressionist realm as my work gets looser and more colorful. I want the viewers to feel the horse coming at them; I want my paintings to breathe.” She prefers to work from her own photographs of horses, which she takes when she goes
“Before the Race”
to places like Keeneland or the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. “I want, in everything I do, to be doing something I’ve never done before. I want to keep learning and pushing.” And nowhere is that more apparent than in her ongoing, enthusiastic hunger to learn all she can about horses.
W
hat artists have influenced her? “I respect equine artists so much. I didn’t just do this without help from all the great artists out there. Sir Alfred Munnings was the first one whose work really showed me how to interpret a photograph, how to make the scene come alive. He has such an eloquent brush stroke, including his rendering of the background. His every stroke has a reason for being there.” Among contemporary artists that inspire her, she lists Andre Pater, Jill Soukup, and Jean-Bernard Lalanne, among others. “The first time I saw an Andre Pater, it just knocked me flat. His colors and compositions are breathtaking.” Western artist Jill Soukup paints buffalo, horses, and
people. “Her horses breathe. Studying her work, I learned how to use a brushstroke or a smear with a palette knife to show motion.” Jean-Bernard Lalanne is another huge inspiration. “He paints every subject, and his horses and people are some of the best I’ve ever seen.” There were many others, as well as portrait artists – sadly, too many to include in this story. Sharon Matisoff is contemplating 2020 with great excitement. “People started buying my work in 2019,” she says, and journalists began to discover her. She was featured in two Kentucky magazines. “All the best things I’ve done as an artist are tied in with horses. I finally started feeling that this is really meant to be; this is what I’m supposed to be doing,” she said, eyes shining. “I’ve never been so happy; I feel so fulfilled. I wake up in the morning excited about painting.” Once again, horses have worked their magic in someone’s life. Learn more at sharonmatisoff.com
