Inspired by the world of horse racing, equine artist Jessica Leonard creates oil paintings that celebrate the sport. See more of her portfolio on her website.
“Favored” oil on canvas, 36″ x 24″
Like many students who go to art school, with graduation day came bills that needed to be paid. Real life hit hard, and as much as I loved art, I had to get a normal everyday job to pay the bills.
“Hold the Line” oil on canvas, 72″ x 36″
Before I knew it, ten years had passed since I had picked up a paintbrush.
“Radiant” oil on aluminum, 20″ tondo
One day while my two young daughters were napping, I vividly remember taking a second for myself and sitting down next to an open window to enjoy the newly warm breeze of spring floating in along with the sound of the songbirds outside.
“The Crimson Cord” oil on canvas, 24″ x 24″
There happened to be a notebook and pen next to me and I started to sketch a little sparrow. I ended up posting that drawing to social media and my page blew up! I realized then that most of the people in my life at that point knew nothing of my artistic side at all. The attention was intoxicating.
“Brotherhood” oil on canvas, 48″ x 24″
From that point on creating art was officially back in my life.
“Now Rest” oil on canvas, 16″ x 20″
I started with small commissions that continued to grow. Eventually I landed a commission to paint a thoroughbred racehorse. Growing up near the horse racing town of Saratoga Springs, New York, this was the kind of thing I really wanted to be doing! The commission came out great. From there things really started to snowball for my career.
“Daybreak” oil on canvas, 48″ x 24″
After just a few years of painting, I gained gallery representation. I was able to paint not just commissions, but also original art that inspired me and fueled my love of the subject of horse racing.
“A Day at the Spa” oil on aluminum, 24″ tondo
I am so fortunate to work with a handful of great photographers in the horse racing field, collaborating with them to make some really unique artwork.
“Seeing Red” oil on canvas, 24″ x 24″
I love the summer rush of the racing season in Saratoga, and I love that my art can be a small part of that.
Artist Jessica Leonard working on “Tiz the Law” in front of Spa Fine Art
I am currently represented by Spa Fine Art in Saratoga Springs New York as well as Equis Art Gallery in Red Hook New York.
Artist Jessica Leonard invites you to follow her on Facebook and Instagram.
From another artist your work is amazing!!! I’ve always loved horses growing up with them on a farm in MT. But your other subjects are just as incredible! I retired at 60 and started painting pastels full time finally. I’m on Faso just wondering if this is similar and if you like this platform?
Hi Beverly, Carolyn from Artsy Shark here. FASO, as you know is a website platform – they host sites which you can build and from which you can sell your work using their shopping cart feature. Artsy Shark is NOT a website platform. Nobody builds their websites here, we don’t list prices or sell art. Artsy Shark is a blog that features and promotes artists through individual portfolio articles. We refer readers to artist websites through a link in each article. So we support and promote artists, but we do not represent, or host their sites here.
Hi there! Thank you so much for your kind words! This is my first time working with Artsy Shark and I have my own website plus my work on my gallery’s websites. FASO looks interesting though!
Jessica,
Your paintings of horses are really beautiful. That is the subject I started drawing as a child, which lead me to paint other animals. I continue to expand my experience as I paint. continue to do yours.
Thanks so much for your kind words! It means so much!The difference is that FASO is a website platform for artists. You can build a site there using drag and drop templates. You can list your art for sale on FASO and they provide a shopping cart.
Artsy Shark is not a website provider. It is a blog and publisher that features and promotes artist portfolios through articles. They don’t sell art at all, but they do refer readers to the artist’s own website through a prominent link in the heading of the article. (and that website might be built on the FASO platform, or not.)
These are all wonderful. My favorite is Radiant.
Thanks so much! “Radiant” was a really fun painting to make! I love the circle format!