“You take care of me, I take care of you”

In the years leading up to her first exhibition, the young Swedish artist Emelie Berg painted mostly landscapes, animals, nature and later horses.

During her time as an art student, she continued to paint horses and studying them through different painting techniques such as graphite, acrylic, ink and watercolors with particular attention to imagination and also to realism.

“In my artwork dedicated to the Horse Museum Foundation, the protagonist is the pony Mysan: she was my first relationship with a horse. Mysan represented a large part of my childhood and if today I do what I love and am who I am it is only thanks to her.

For about four years we spent time together. We took the patent together, we participated in pony trotting competitions, dressage competitions, riding courses... Mysan did everything for me and I did everything for her and in all this time she taught me an incredible number of things."

In 2013, together they won their first and only race. It's a day Emelie will never forget. During that day, she wrote down all the experiences they were having and all the thoughts that came to her mind. She still remembers every detail as if all these years hadn't passed.

They had no chance of winning the competition, but Emelie's attitude was super positive because they would have had a good day despite the result. The important was to be together, running and laughing, having fun just like two friends know how to make.

The artist began writing a short story emphasizing how important horses are for us as humans and showing how much athletic preparation takes place before a race. Emilie wanted to tell that experience, feeling and performance are more important than the result of the race.

And she thinks this is the most important lesson she learned as a child, and which still accompanies her today.

The novel, however, had a complete reversal when Mysan, against all odds, decided to shock everyone by winning a competition.

And so, the story was renamed "My first victory" and later illustrated by Maria Wigelius for a series of sketches in the magazine "Min Häst".

Maria's illustrations of Emelie and Mysan made her decide to start drawing horses.

If she had never met Mysan, Emelie would never have been the person she is today. For this the Swedish artist has decided to make a portrait of the two of them together. The painting could not miss the competition dress and a bag full of carrots and apples to symbolize the most important lesson of Mysan: "You take care of me, and I take care of you"

Emelie Berg graduated from Solviks Folkhögskola (Sweden) in 2022 and she exhibits her painting in many events around Sweden.

Emelie Berg, 2000, Sweden
www.konstavemelie.se
IG: konst.av.emelie

“You take care of me, I take care of you”, Ivory black, watercolor, on 300g Aquafine paper, size 21x29,7cm.

Emelie Berg is a member of the Paard Verzameld Collective.

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.