Blue-Eyed Mischief: Painting a Spunky Miniature Horse Named Pinto Bean

Blue-Eyed Mischief: Painting a Spunky Miniature Horse Named Pinto Bean

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting my work!

Every once in a while, a piece sparks joy from the very beginning—and this miniature horse was one of those moments. With striking blue eyes, a bold black-and-white coat, and a personality that could fill any room, he galloped right into my heart (and onto my watercolor paper).

This watercolor was part of a wonderful group of commissions I created for a client who gifted about a dozen custom artworks to her own clients for Christmas. I absolutely love projects like these—full of personality, meaning, and variety. And this little guy? He definitely made an impression.

When I first saw his photo, those electric blue eyes stopped me in my tracks. Blue isn’t a common eye color in horses, and when it does show up, it always grabs me. I knew right away they’d be the focal point. His expression had that classic mischievous mini-horse attitude: part troublemaker, part charmer, all heart.

I knew this little guy would be a fun challenge, and his spunky personality was contagious. His black and white coat provided a beautiful contrast, but those blue eyes were the star of the show. I had to capture the depth of his gaze while still showing the mischievous glint that was so clearly present in his expression.

The first step was figuring out how to layer the blacks and whites of his coat with watercolor—especially when relying on the white of the paper to represent the lightest parts of the subject. For the brightest areas on this little guy, I used something called masking fluid. It’s a bit like rubber cement—applied before painting, it protects the paper from any paint and peels off later to reveal clean, untouched white underneath.

I used a blurred photo to determine the lightest and darkest areas of the little guy. Looking closely at the photo, what I saw were gray areas within his black coat. I mixed my own black using blue and brown—those were the colors I saw reflected in his fur—which allowed me to shift the tone toward a more blue-black or brown-black as needed. By adjusting the amount of water, I was able to darken or lighten areas as I went. Once I was done, I removed the masking fluid.

With the base wash laid down over the black areas of his coat, I began working on the details—deepening the darkest areas, adding touches of pink, defining his sweet little mouth, and fine-tuning his eyes. I always marvel at artists who can work on one section at a time, completing it before moving on. Not me—I’m all over the place.

Once I was happy with the underlying tones, I started adding the details of his fur—one tiny stroke at a time. It might look like I painted every single hair, but I’ve learned that less is more. A few well-placed lines can suggest fur all over without having to draw it all. After all, we don’t see every strand of hair in a photo—but we know it’s there.

There’s a saying among artists: “It’s complete when you’re 80% done.” I take that to mean, you’ll never get it 100% perfect—so stop when you’re almost there. When I’m working on commissions, I always let the client decide when a piece is finished. Once I feel I’ve hit that 80%, I send a progress photo with a message like, “I think I’m done—what do you think?” If they say it’s great, I walk away. Even if part of me thinks I could make an area darker or shift a color slightly, I stop. At that point, all that’s left is to remove the painting from the board and get it ready for my client.

Have a favorite animal you’d love to see in watercolor? Or just want to say hi? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

Curious about commissions or thinking about a custom piece? I’m always happy to chat about ideas. You can find more details by clicking here to learn more about the commission process, or click “Commmission Information” at the top of the blog home page (drop down window on phone).

Supplies Used in This Piece (Some links below are affiliate; I may earn a small commission at no extra cost—thank you!):

• Arches Cold Press Watercolor Paper
• Mijello Mission Gold Watercolor Paints
• Winsor & Newton Masking Fluid
• Water activated tape
• Ruled Washi Tape (I used tape from TheArtistLife.com, they are no longer in business)

If you’re interested in trying any of these supplies yourself, feel free to check out the links above. I only share products I truly love and use!

Spring, Sass, and Colored Pencils: A Duckling Comes to Life

Sassy Duckling Tutorial by Lorna Dandy

“Spring, Sass, and Colored Pencils: A Duckling Comes to Life”

Who doesn’t love spring—and a sassy little duck?

Back in 2022, I discovered the joy of working with colored pencils. Like most new artistic adventures, I dove in headfirst with the help of tutorials. So when a video by Lorna Dandy popped up in my YouTube feed featuring an energetic little duckling, I couldn’t resist.

Lorna provided an outline and a reference photo, so after tracing the image onto my paper, I got to work.

I really enjoyed her pace. We worked slowly, layering in the duckling’s colors and character bit by bit.

As I often do, there came a moment when I “got it”—something just clicked—and from there, I took off on my own. It’s part of the fun: learning the technique, then putting your own spin on it.

By the time I got to the foot in the air, I going solo, not watching video anymore. It’s funny looking at it now—clearly a little duckling foot caught in motion—but at the time, I had no idea what I was drawing. I just kept going, relying on the reference photo and hoping it would all come together in the end.

This particular duck was created during a chaotic time: a full kitchen remodel and new flooring in our main living area. My studio (otherwise known as the spare bedroom) had become the temporary kitchenet and living room, so I set up a small table in our bedroom. Sometimes I worked on the bed, colored pencils in hand, a video on the TV, and that little duckling coming to life on the page.

That’s the beauty of colored pencils—they’re wonderfully portable, and cleanup is a breeze. No paint, no water, no brushes. Just a handful of pencils and a little space.

But I’ll be honest: colored pencils don’t give you much back. They’re slow. There’s no magic wash or big reveal—you do all the work, one pencil stroke at a time. But that’s also what makes the end result so satisfying.

If you’ve ever been tempted to try colored pencils, I highly recommend starting with a good tutorial like Lorna’s. And if you just came here for the duck—I get it. She’s a sassy little thing and full of springtime spirit.

Let me know what you think in the comments—or share your own favorite medium to create with when life gets messy.

If this sassy little duckling found its way onto a product, what would you be most excited to own, wear, or use? A mug for your morning coffee? A tote for spring errands? I’d love to hear your ideas—who knows, your suggestion might just inspire my next creation!

You can see more of my work (including a few other animal antics) over on my Facebook page. I’m always adding new pieces, so feel free to take a peek. Thanks so much for stopping by—and for letting this little duckling waddle into your day

Bubbles

Bubbles

8x10 Watercolor Painting

A commission for my cousins in the UK.

April 2024

Working with this photo, important areas were traced on my iPad, using the app Procreate.

Tracing printed on vellum, then transferred to my watercolor paper.

Starting with what I thought would be a good background,

I began mapping inthe lighter colors.

I worked on this at my weekly Art Group;

I must have been very focused as there were few progress photos.

I wasn’t happy with the background, so added a different one.

After adding the lighter areas, I began to add darker shadows.

At this point I was not 100% happy, but shared with my cousin.

She thought it was perfect.

Completed and signed.

Digitally added a frame.

Supplies:

Mijello Mission Gold watercolor paints

Arches Cold Pressed Watercolor paper 140lb

 

 Franklin

8x10 Watercolor 

Franklin was an amazingly fun horse to paint and is one of my favorites.

He was one of many horse painting commissions I created for Christmas presents in 2022.

Using my iPad, I create an outline, keeping track of important details.

Often I start with the eyes, but with Franklin,

his tongue was really important in showing his personality.

Slow adding layers of colors.

Because watercolor paints are is a transparent medium,

I like to add layers to give the painting more depth.

I am constantly checking my progress with the original photo.

I wanted to make sure I got that rubber band correct.

This was when I decided I didn’t want to add a lot of detail into the mane.

 I wanted it to just fade off into the background.

Added dark areas to the tiny part of Franklin’s forelock

More dark layers.

Starting to look more like the reference photo.

More details.

Whisky mane hairs.

Around 11:00 am as the sun finally peaks over the mountains.

I finished painting.

Supplies used:

Arches 140 pound cold pressed paper

Mijello Mission Gold Paints

Your insights fuel my creativity. Leave a comment with your thoughts!

Do you prefer to see the finished artwork upfront, or would you rather wait until the end?

 Brown Hare

8x10 - Colored Pencils on Strathmore Toned Tan

In the summer of 2022, I decided to try my hand at colored pencils. The Brown Hare was one of my early attempts and I am quite happy with him.

The above reference photo was shared by an amazing photographer, Debbie Anne, in the Facebook group "Free Reference Photos For Artists."

Using the grid method, I transferred an outline of the brown hare to my toned tan paper and began. 

With almost all of my animal artwork, I like starting with eyes because I believe that if you get the eye right, the rest doesn't matter as much.

Supplies used:
9x12 Strathmore Toned Tan Paper
Prismacolor Pencils

Looking forward to hearing your perspectives in the comments!
If you’ve been keeping up with my work, which pieces are you eager to see progress pictures of?