Equine artist Yvette Frahn

The Barn @ Wombat Flat aims to pair visual artists with our events and we are thrilled to be able to introduce all of you to renowned equine artist Yvette Frahn. We have our fingers crossed that she will be able to exhibit some of the works she will be taking to the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame’s art exposition in Texas in August 2018.

“My passion for drawing horses started when I was 4 and saw my first live horse outside the kindergarten gates. I can honestly say they became the most important thing in my life for many years after that and the are still integral to who I am now. I started drawing them constantly from that age and improved my work every time I saw another horse.

Eventually my parents decided that the only way to stop my significant pestering was to give me one for my 12th birthday. Little did they know just what they’d gotten into. From that time on my drive to be involved with horses grew into a competitiveness which resulted in success I’d never considered myself capable of. We progressed through a few horses until ‘Blue Jasper’ arrived – leading to a 22 year love affair, significant success in showjumping (culminating with winning the Balharry Cup, the trophy for highest points achieved by a south Australian Showjumper) and a string of extraordinary drawings. (No other horse since has had the same life changing effect on me)

I studied horse husbandry at Roseworthy Agricultural College and became heavily involved in anatomy – dissecting, and became the ‘go to’ girl for anatomical drawings from class. My insatiable artistic needs were met a few years later when I did a Degree in Visual Arts with Ballarat University (my graduand exhibition was a collection of large pastel equine closeups), followed by a Graduate Diploma in Secondary Education with the same uni. I have also studied Remedial Massage (for humans), enhancing my anatomical knowledge. My comprehensive understanding of equine anatomy allows me to see inside the horse, the muscularity and hardness of bones under the skin, the extraordinary play of light on a metallic sheen of a fine coat. The character of each equine through movement and frozen moments. I consider myself a colourist and combine my anatomical knowledge with an ability to see and interpret details and colours which only seem to exist through my eyes.

I combine this collection of knowledge with my emotional response to the subject matter, creating drawings and paintings which contain the true spirit of the equine. It is for me the ultimate way to connect to my horses. My commissioned work is all about capturing this intimate relationship which only comes from being completely at one with the horse.”