Horses in Art - An Equine Vision Magazine

The 3-D Effect - Lynn Bean

by Lea Rakeli

The effects of shimmering copper in three-dimensional form enhance the watercolor and acrylic painting of artist Lynn Bean. Horses painted with a Native American theme regularly feature copper, and are enhanced with real feathers embellished with beadwork tied to the horse’s mane in the painting.

Eagle Feathered Mare and Colt
Watercolor, 18 x 24, by Lynn Bean
with copper and leather enhancement.
The sheets of copper are hand tooled, then cleaned with steel wool. Porcelain paint is then applied to the clean, brilliant finish. After the paint has dried, the pieces are baked in an oven and sprayed with a clear acrylic sealer to keep the copper bright. The copper is then shaped and made ready to attach to the painting or giclée print.

The real feathers tied to the horse’s mane are naturally molted, exotic parrot feathers. They are assembled with beads, horse hair and leather for additional accents. Shining colored beadwork is done on copper wire and all such features are ultimately pinned through the copper feathers, binding them into a homogenous unit. The copper assemblies are finally wired through the cotton artwork. No glue is used for attaching.

Finished artwork is then matted with thick spacers behind the matting for a 3D shadow box effect, and to give space to the shaped copper assemblies.

The final mixed media paintings have colored, translucent areas and dense painted areas which contrast with the shining, bare copper. The total effect is not easily photographed and like a sunrise should be viewed first hand.

Lynn Bean’s life on a remote ranch in central Oregon’s Ochoco Mountains has been inspiration for paintings of birds, wild deer and elk, and other wild animals, as well as horses. Much of her later work is inspired by her seasonal residence in Meadview, Arizona, where she has produced Native North American and desert wildlife subjects in the grandeur of the Colorado River and Grand Canyon.

Lynn Bean’s work can be viewed at galleries such as Keepers of the Wild Animal Park in Golden Valley, Arizona, Kestrel Winery in Prosser, Washington, The Gift Gallery in Tuacahn, Utah, Lynn Bean Gallery in Sumpter, Oregon, and at her online gallery at www.lynnbean.com.

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