Pen and Ink
 
Size in frame: 636mm x 539mm
( 25 inches x 21.5 inches )
 
Unframed size: 482mm x 385mm
( 19 inches x 15.2 inches )
 
 
 Released as a limited edition of 250 numbered and signed prints on archival paper

 

The Clydesdale, the best known of British breeds of draught horses, originated in the Clyde Valley, in Scotland, in the seventeenth century, and was brought to Otago, New Zealand, in the very early days of settlement there.  A considerable number of mares and sires came from Victoria and Tasmania, with a fair sprinkling imported from Scotland, including many famous horses. 

Mares and geldings were used in teams for a wide variety of jobs such as ploughing, disking, drilling, harrowing, haymaking, cropping, logging, taking cream to the factories, mining, delivering goods and moving train turntables. 

George and Vivien Simmons are well-known NZ Clydesdale breeders at "Ashburn" Gordonton, in the Waikato.  Their mares used for this drawing are Ashburn "Kathleen" on the left, 17 1/2 hands and 10 years old, and Ashburn "Keri", 16 1/2 hands and the elder of the two at 16 years.  The plough is an International single furrow plough. 

"Working Horses" is the fourth in a series of six pen and ink drawings of New Zealand colonial life.  To replicate the original artwork, the drawing has been printed using only black ink on archival quality paper.

 

     Detail
 

For around fifteen years, up until the mid 90's, I worked almost exclusively in pen and ink using a stipple technique, known colloquially as "pointillism". These drawings, each taking hundreds of hours to complete, were done entirely in very fine dots using a 0.18mm nib.
 
The six Colonial Collection drawings were the culmination of that period. The few remaining prints, unsold at the time, including a handful of edition numbers and artist's proofs, are now released for purchase.
We have selected a generous black timber frame and a warm white mat-board to reflect the colonial era in a modern classic style.

Price framed: $395  including delivery in New Zealand
 
Price unframed: $250  including delivery in New Zealand 

 

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