Brenda Bruckner

So last, but not least for today, we are going to look at the colored pencil work of Brenda Bruckner. She does a lot of western drawings, but I also included some of her "non-western" pieces in this blog post.

Along with water, I love seeing how people successfully and realistically depict glass in their artwork. Both in "Burgandy Reflections" and "Marbles" Bruckner does a really good job at capturing the smooth, reflective qualities of glass, seen in the wine glass and the marbles.

I love the detail she puts into her drawings of the horses. She captures the attitudes of the horses, whether it be drowzy and laid back, like the one in "Nap Time," or alert and at attention, like the one in "The Professional." She also captures the silky manes and velvet coats of the horses, and the wrinkles and curves of the faces.

In some of her drawings, she sets the background and context of where the horse is, like in "The Professional," while in other drawings she does not do anything to the background, but gives all the attention to the horse, making the drawing feel more like a study. It does seem to depend on the story she is trying to tell; in "Nap Time" all you need to see is the horse whose eyes are drooping from sleepiness. While in "The Professional" seeing the horse hitched to a trailer, with cattle in the background tells the story of a cattle horse who is on the job and has been at this job for a while.

-Maria

http://www.bbruckner.com/index.htm  <-- where I got the photos and the info!