LISA BAECHTLE, ARTIST

Horses inspire me! Their beauty, honesty and grace fascinate and feed me. They have been a source of romance and fantasy since I can remember. They eventually became a physical reality in my life. I have been drawing and painting horses most of my life. Their movement and interaction with each other have held my imagination. I invite you to look at the horses that have told me their stories.

Painting with watercolor nourishes me. I enjoy the immediacy. Process is important. I work intuitively, composing images from my photos, my imagination and life drawings. Once I have decided on a composition, I lay in color directly and quickly. This encourages me to express what is in my heart as well as what I see. I am fascinated by contrasts in depth: horses up close, landscape far away.

My home and studio is in Ono, California. The western plains, prairies, mountains and deserts have been my inspiration for color and light. I love the wide open spaces and the quality of light whether diffuse or direct: each offers its challenge.

I have expanded my expertise to include portraits of horses. Meeting a specific horse has honed my skills at capturing personality as well as details in physique. As with all horses I paint, I spend at least a couple hours photographing, drawing and interacting with the horse.

Blank notecards are available of most of my images. Also available are giclee prints of a select few paintings. Please contact me e-mail for more information.

I am also an interior specialty painter. Faux finishes, murals and color consulting are a few of the artistic skills I bring to homes. Also, in Binghamton NY, myself and two other artists organized and created mosaics designed by kids based on the Earth Charter (www.earthcharter.org) on Washington Street, a main artsy avenue.

I spend most of my free time playing with my two horses, Wimpy and Tippy, and my two dogs, Buddy and Izabel.