Introducing the Emperor

When I was a little girl, I loved horses. I would ride whenever I got the chance. I even helped train and break them in for riding. I volunteered at stables and the local riding school just to be close to them. Our family could never afford to own one (or even co-own one). I participated in 4H and learned everything I could about these magnificent creatures. And since I am also drawn to the arts, even as a child, I would draw horse after horse, as anatomically correctly as I possibly could. ​

2021 was a mega production year for me as a musical artist. I committed to releasing 12 songs in 12 months, a tremendous undertaking for even the most experienced artist. With quite a few of these songs, I would create music videos to go with the releases, making the project even more daunting. During COVID, I had learned how to shoot my own music videos with nothing but my iPhone and the help of friends, like Bryan and his drone. I did all the editing myself. 

The release for May 2021 was “Beer Run,” and I asked my good friend Perlita if I could shoot the video at her country property. She had at the time two horses, and for the very traditional country feel the song had, it felt appropriate to fully embrace the stereotype of a farm and horses.

If I remember correctly, this video was shot entirely with the drone. Of course, my sweet dog Jon Snow had his usual appearance. That is, until he started trying to snap the drone out of the air! We had no idea how the horses would react to the drone either, so we proceeded with caution. 

One of her horses skittishly ran to the other end of the pasture, but Emperor Rastano was curious and followed the drone (and me) around. It was perfect. 

Sometime after the video, poor old Emperor, who had been a trusted companion for Perlita for so many years, succumbed to old age. It was tremendously hard on her. So when she asked if I would paint a portrait of him, I didn’t hesitate for a second.

I started on the painting, and once I had the “bed” or the first layer, it almost felt finished! I stood back and looked at the painting, a bit awestruck. I definitely “tapped in” on this one. But it also got me thinking: Did all those years of studying, riding, and drawing horses in my pre-teens suddenly come through decades later through this painting? True, I know the forms and shapes of a horse so well. It was the feeling of “riding the bike” again after many, many years of not even really thinking about horses. Yet here I was, giving shape to this magnificent creature once again, with flair and ease. I’m still baffled by this experience, and I do not have any satisfying answer to why this particular painting came so effortlessly to me. 

The commission of the painting happened to coincide with Perlita’s 70th birthday, and we unveiled the painting at her birthday party last weekend. One of our mutual friends pitched in and gave it as her gift to Perlita for her birthday. It was such a special moment to see her face when we unveiled the painting.