I am reaching out to fellow oil painters for some ideas on oil color mixtures for a red-brown horse. I am doing a flat of a mounted Hussar, and I need some ideas for the basic color and shading/highlights. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Pat

....... Anybody? ....... Anybody? ....... Bueller? ....... Anybody?



Happy Painting

I haven't painted a horse and years but a great reference site is called: Rio Rondo. The artist paints very large scale horses and has a great book for sale on her site.
I like the Daniel Smith colors for horses. I believe they are Quinacindrone Orange and Brown.
You can start with a base of Burnt Sienna and just add whatever you like to get the tone the way you want it: Mars Red, Mars Brown, Brown Madder, etc.
For shading, I would add Brown Madder Alizarin and a little Mars Brown or Black to make it a little more opaque. For the deep shadows, you can add Sepia, Indigo or Blue Black to your shadow color.
For highlights, I would use bright colors like Cad. Red or Cad Yellow. They make furs and horse skins more vibrant and "alive."

I find this a great source when painting a horse and saddles.

http://www.riorondo.com/

I paint my horses in enamels and therefore haven't responded to your "Oil" questions

Pat,
Rio Rondo is a great source for painting horses. I have their book on painting and highly recommend it. I'll email a sample of one of their "receipes" for a red/brown horse this evening. Hope this helps
All the best,
Mark Mindeman
Tulsa

Thanks to Phil, Guy and Mark for their responses. I appreciate the help. I have not done a horse myself in a few years - hence the question. What I THOUGHT was my old standby mixture looks a little funky on the figure.

Thanks. Anyone else's ideas are appreciated.

Happy Painting

Pat, I forgot to send a "receipe" to you! I will get it done this evening!