Ever since a painting of a southern Albertan horse won an international art competition, it is arguably hard to say who has become more famous, the artist or the horse. After all, the horse is already on a first name basis with admirers.
Nanton’s Shannon Lawlor placed first in the painting category of Art Horse Magazine’s Ex Arte Equinus 5 Equine Art competition with her painting of Casey, a Grade Percheron stallion.
The equine and western artist said the photo a friend had taken of Casey intrigued her.
“I’ve seen so many horses and when I get taken with a photograph… I know it’s going to resonate with other people if I can do my job and pull it off.”
The acrylic painting stands four by three feet tall and depicts a close-up image of a horse, whose dark mane seems to flutter in the breeze. Lawlor said a sense of intrigue is passed through the painting and viewers have commented how Casey represents a sense of freedom and spirit.
“That’s the fun part about a painting like this,” she said. “You absolutely leave it up to the viewer.”
Lawlor also won the same competition in 2007 and is the only artist to have placed first twice.
“It was something for me to win that five years ago because I was just at the beginning of my career, I was just embarking on what I’m doing now,” she explained. “It was quite an honour then but to have won it twice in five years and to be the only artist to do so, it makes it a little bit more significant.”
Show director Juliet Harrison said different jurors are picked each year and they received 275 submissions in the painting category, which is typically the most popular.
Lawlor’s success indicates “her work is of the highest calibre” from her technical skills with the medium to her ability to render a horse’s anatomy, she said. However, because it is a contemporary fine equine art competition, the work must go beyond exact rendering, something Lawlor has achieved, Harrison explained.
“The work also has to have something more to win in that category, in any of the categories… It has to have something that’s a little less easy to describe which is the ability to connect to the viewer on levels beyond just anatomy and technical proficiency.”
Lawlor said her two winning pieces are her best work and it could be another four or five years before she creates an equally strong painting.
“The longer I do this, it becomes more challenging because you keep raising the bar for yourself and you keep looking for images like (Casey) that are going to do something for your audience,” she explained.
For inspiration, Lawlor travelled to Poland in August where she photographed Arabians and described it as life changing. Arabians have been bred there for 600 years and she saw one sell for $500,000.
“I wanted to go see the real thing. I wanted to go see the best ones in the world and that’s where they are.”
Lawlor hasn’t had the chance to start painting based on photos from her trip, but plans to work on a group of paintings from her experience next year. She said she wanted to go to Poland to see the Arabians ever since she was seven years old.
“I was one of those ideal little girls that loved horses and drew them obsessively every chance I got and so they’ve never not been a part of my life.”
Lawlor was employed in the equine and agricultural industry for most of her life before she decided to change careers and become a professional artist seven years ago.
She said hard work and dedication are keys to her success and she believes she has an obligation to her collectors to continue to improve and push her limits.
“You kind of have to keep reinventing yourself, I do anyway as I go because I don’t want to be producing the same type and the same quality of work 10 years from now that I am now,” Lawlor explained. “My hope is to continue to grow and improve as an artist.”
For more information on Lawlor visit her website at www.shannonlawlor.com.
