The experience of having your own painting commissioned from start to finish, I think, adds to the enjoyment of the final piece. I can work from existing clear photos; but by getting acquainted with my subject, I carry away with me something extra that marinates in the back of my mind. I start with a feeling about that particular animal, and as I study the pictures taken, I explore the visually unsaid as keenly as the said as I pour over the photos. The whole experience from the first introduction to the final portrait is a happy exciting one.

Dominance or emphasis by repetition is the oldest, simplest, and most effective way of creating aesthetic unity.
In poetry, music, and dance, repetition occurs in time. In painting, architecture, and sculpture, repetition occurs in space. (excerpt from Maitland Graves) In "5 Horses" 36"x60" I tried to do just that along with the power of silhouette, which the horses were, by their very nature, being black.