Mimi Torchia Boothby

When I was a girl, I was in love with horses. I grew up in Newark, NJ where the only horses I ever saw were the occasional police horse, or maybe an old tired freckled grey pulling a fruit cart. It didn’t matter. I dreamed and drew horses over and over again. When I went to college, I chose Boise State, in Idaho, and finally found myself in horse country. And as soon as I could, I became a horse owner. I exulted in the ability to be near these amazing creatures, and of course, I continued to draw them. There are some young girls in my family who are also growing up horse crazy. Inspired by them, I am painting horses.

This first horse is a pregnant mustang mare

Here we have a trio of horses, they look like they were startled by a thunder clap.

This is a sorrel Morgan mare and she’s sold!

This painting came down fast and dirty, it reminds me a lot of Frederic Remington’s depictions of mustang herds.

Paintings are available please inquire if one of them catches your fancy. They are all 5″ x 7″ and for sale for $40.00.. All proceeds go to Wild Animal Conservation programs.

Painting is more than just a physical exercise. It requires perseverance, focus, it demands time and dedication. It requires that you continue to try even after it doesn’t feel like it’s worth it. And then, sometimes life gets in the way, in fact, the normal daily requirements of life take me away from painting constantly. That’s why so many famous painters are men, they have wives and mothers who take care of the minutae of life. Most women are not so lucky.

I have been away from painting for a while because of a major life event, my beloved partner, husband,  and friend of 34 years  passed away on July the 18th. Since then I have found solace in mindless chores, but there are only so many of them that I can do without feeling my muse scolding me, pulling me back in. As my first attempt at painting once more,  I choose the horse, a creature I have used for inner symbolism for almost 40 years of my life to carry me back into the realm of being a painter.  Over the years I have found that the horses I draw carry my mood; happiness, sadness, tiredness, excitement.  Many times I do not even realize what I am doing and there is suddenly a horse on the paper, brought to life by a few lines.

The horse is fiery but timid, bold but skittish; a huge, muscular creature that moves with energy and grace.  This horse is a symbol of taking on life on life’s terms, and not looking back.

This painting is done with Caran D’ache Watercolor pencils and watercolors. It measures 11″ x 15″ and is for sale, $150.00

I had to wait to post this because the painting was a surprise and a Christmas present for my nephew’s wonderful wife. It’s the first formal horse portrait I have ever done and it was very exciting to pull it off. This is Comet, who is no longer a teenager, but he has been extremely well taken care of, and he obviously loves to jump. The reference photo for this portrait was taken at the Whidbey Island 2010 Horse Show.

I am very excited about painting horses and hope to add more to my body of work. I used to have horses of my own in the 1970’s and although I doubt that I will ever own another horse, I still love to watch them move, and thus, capture them in paint.

Maybe you can think of a better name for this painting?
In the very middle of the last century, a very small girl who lived in a big city picked up a pencil and started drawing horses. I do not understand why these big beasts are so important to so many little girls, but no matter their background; girls who grow up on farms and girls who grow up in fancy houses and girls that live in shabby apartments in cities that are filled with asphalt and too many cars become captivated with horses. But this particular little girl who loved to draw horses drew her first horse at the age of three. By the time she was 12, she realized that the pony she wished for every Christmas was not coming, she was realistic; no one else in her neighborhood had a horse anyway. But reality did not interfere with art, now her horses were a lot more life-like and managed to impress a few adults, she even gave a few of her drawings away.
When she was 18, she left the big city and moved to Idaho where people did have horses. By the time she was 21 she had a horse of her own named Freckles. And she kept drawing horses. Her 9 years in Idaho gave her the opportunity to live with horses and know them intimately, and her understanding of how to draw them grew. Life changed again and she moved back to another big city where once again having a horse was a luxury beyond her means.
That person was me if you hadn’t already guessed. I still draw horses a lot but I haven’t painted many, because I didn’t want my horses to be trite, so I have pretty much avoided them entirely until just recently. This is one of a series of paintings I have been working on. I don’t think I’m “there” yet, but I feel like I am making good progress. Can you help me name this painting? What does it say to you?