“First encounter” with a pony, a spotlight on happiness

Have you ever seen happiness on a child face? Depicted in the painting is Eveline’s recollection of her first time ever riding a pony, and it is still unforgettable. There is a sort di spotlight on Eveline’s smile.

She was approximately 2 and half years old at the time (1978) and her parents rented a pony with a small cart to go for a ride. Halfway they apparently thought the pony was trustworthy enough to put her on its back.

And there she was, all of a sudden on the warm, moving back of a pony!

She remembers that after the first inclination to become a bit scared, this feeling changed into being in absolute awe of the softness of the pony’s coat and mane, of its little ears and the happiness and relaxedness in its strides.

The wonder to sit up high on such a strong yet gentle animal!

For this painting Eveline made use of several reference pictures, as her parents captured the actual moment she was sitting on the pony on camera.

As the pictures had turned a bit orange and brownish over the years, she decided to use these colours in her painting as well.

The orange-reddish veil that is lying over half of the  pony was added to draw the attention to the child’s face and posture, excitedly sitting on the pony, as well as on the elements of the picture that Eveline remembers so vividly: the pony’s mane, ears and soft expression. It’s like a window to her memories.

Eveline lives in the Dutch countryside with her husband, daughter, 4 Welsh and Shetland ponies in different sizes, a Dutch Warmblood horse, 2 rescued dogs and 5 chickens.

She has been drawing and painting since she was a little girl. Horses, farm animals and nature have always been her favourite topics. It was only in 2020, however, that she found the time to get more serious about making art.

Eveline started taking art classes by Sarah Stokes, an established British watercolour artist, and practiced on a daily basis.

As her daily life and profession were already intertwined with horses, it was only logical that she joined Paard Verzameld when she found out about its existence. Being part of this inspiring collective means another boost to her creativity and she thoroughly enjoys the monthly challenges and opportunities the collective offers.

Eveline absolutely loves watercolour because of the transparency of the colours and the white of the paper shining through the paint. She uses fineliner every now and then when she feels it would add to the definition of the piece.

Eveline Menke, 1975. Dutch

Instagram: @eefs_countryside

"First encounter”, mixed media artwork (watercolour and fineliner). Schmincke Horadam watercolour paint and Pigma Micron fineliner, brown (Archival ink, PN) on cold pressed Arches watercolour paper (100% cotton).

Eveline Menke is a member of the Paard Verzameld  Colletive.

Through international collaboration between Paard Verzameld and the Horse Museum Foundation, the painting will be exhibited during the Pratoni del Vivaro World Championships in September 2022.