|
Close Window
I Loved That Horse
written by,
Renee Chambers
I once had a horse named Cholla, who
was my one and only horse. I Loved him with all of
my heart and soul, and he me. It was Love at first
sight for both of us. Instantly, upon our first
glance of one another, he followed me, no halter, no
reason other than an interpreted bonding trust.
You see, I had moved West, desiring
to own a horse, even though I hadn’t a clue. I was
a trained ballerina, not a cowgirl. Cholla was
almost five years old, born from a Mustang stallion
and a Quarter Horse mare, a gorgeous 15.2 copper
buckskin with amazing conformation, long black mane
and tail, a dorsal stripe, horizontal zebra stripes
on his lower legs, depicting an ancient blood line
and a volatile time bomb to boot !
Yes, he had been a bit “cowboyed” to
say the least, leaving him with both physical and
emotional scars, as he did not respond to the
cowboy’s traditional methods of breaking a horse
with ropes and force. Hence the name, Cholla, one
of the worst cacti one can encounter in the high
desert. Cholla’s level of intelligence did not
allow him to cower to their manipulative practices,
he knew he was stronger and he fought back.
Yet, beyond Cholla’s tough exterior
was a heart of gold, in fact, he developed into an
accomplished award winning International Artist. I
did not train him to paint. His innate talent was
inspired by his own curiosity of year after year
watching me paint his corral fences. Cholla had
always loved to hold things in his teeth, so in the
Spring of 2004, when Cholla was 19, I tacked a piece
of water color paper to the fence, showed him one
uneducated stroke with the water color paint, held
out the brush to him, he took it in his teeth and
brushed the paper. His second piece ever was “Zen
Self Portrait” still on the fence. The next day I
got him a big sturdy easel and he made the powerful
transition without hesitation.
Being a choreographer, I do
understand art and how it manifests through the
universe. Cholla’s essence is undeniably pure and
his art reveals his constant connection with nature.
His talent is now acknowledged
internationally as his minimalist expressionism is
recognized as a personal “Cholla” style compared to
the fire of Pollock and the fixed gaze of Resnick.
His creations are collected in both original and
limited edition fine art giclee prints on three
continents to date. His art has received two
International Art Awards, NYC & Venice, Italy,
amongst human artists, as the jurors have judged the
art itself, not the source.
Cholla was a supreme being. A
majestic, talented artist with much to say. Cholla
the magnificent was born in the Spring of 1985, he
started painting in the Spring of 2004, his Spirit
left the Earth in the Spring of 2013. Approaching
29 years
on planet Earth, Cholla showed little signs of age
except for his timely arthritis, mostly in his hips,
and on March 22, 2013, when Cholla lay down in his
green pasture to rest
his 1300-lb body, he was unable to get up. He tried
again and again. His spirit lives through his art.
Return To The Home Page |
