Horses in Art Magazine - Art for the Horse Lover

Untamed Watercolor

by Kathy Newell Worby

Unbridled – Watercolor by Kathy Worby
Kathy Newell Worby’s watercolor paintings are a wonderful use of the medium, using its uncontrollable qualities to its best advantage. With sensitivity for her subject matter, she creates her paintings by allowing the flow of paint to be as untamed as her wild horse subjects. Kathy comments, “I want to depict movement and energy associated with the wild horse and I find that watercolor is a great medium for that.”

Kathy explains, “When my son was in grade school I went with him to the library and found a book on the Chincoteague wild ponies. I fell in love with their messy look. We ended up taking a trip to see them, much to my son and husband’s dismay. This really changed my direction in art; I started painting horses exclusively.” Worby presents a fresh use of color with a unique overall look. In the painting Mustang, the wild horse is expressed in bright blue, bright yellow, a bit of pink and red tones. Its mane flying, the effect is almost electric, yet somehow Worby maintains the integrity of the actual horse.

Kathy comments, “When I choose my colors it depends on what I want to achieve. I am trying to make them more contemporary and unique. Plus I love color.”

Unbridled, another wild horse painting, uses purple, violet, pink, peach, and yet it all works. The head and neck are clearly outlined, yet as the eye travels over the withers and towards the back, the horse and the background become one in a transparent and delicate fashion.

Kathy commented, “The wild horse is so dependent on its environment. I depict that with the colors coming forward into the image and out again, they are interlocked with the environment.” Using the flowing quality of watercolor and its sense of immediacy, Kathy Newell Worby’s paintings breathe vitality. Her watercolors delightfully exemplify original artistic expression.

Kathy Newell Worby has more than twenty limited edition prints and posters. View more of her watercolors at www.newellstudio.com.

~ Back ~