Logo Image


Elizabeth Haider

Prints.

One of the most frustrating things one can do is watching a horse in a field whilst grazing.   Much time is spend by the horse just slowly moving forward, occasionally raising a head and the odd unexpected mad dash when stung by a fly.  Nevertheless it offers the opportunity to study the volumes in the body and the play of muscles closely and this slow process leads to near abstraction  and back again of the finally image created through the stages of drawing, design and print development until the finished image is reached.

                

                 Study of horse in field               Design rough                       First Pull  

Grazing Horse- engraving 2010

Development of 'Plate 01 - Grazing Horse' from field study to finished print.     

      

Artist Statement

From early art training, drawing has been the foundation of my work.  My training started in Holland in the late 1950th in sculpture and later I studied at art schools in Holland, Hamburg, Germany and London.  The thorough German training has laid the foundation for drawing and printing.  Drawing was taught intensively with life drawing and observation of animals and people at rest and in movement to be of great importance.

As a rider I am hopeless, but I have spent many hours watching and sketching horses in the field and in stables.  My personal favourites are the heavy cold blooded breeds such as the Shires and Ardennes.  As the horse moves, the volumes shift and play against one another in a sculptural and graphically exiting way, which I find inspirational.  My preference is for etching and engraving.  I love the intensely deep soft blacks and the expressive line that can be achieved.  Aquatint adds a further dimension of depth giving the imagery a three dimensional feel.

After many years of working in ceramics, I am back from where I started:  i.e. printmaking, but carrying on with the theme of ‘Horses’.  Much of the effect is achieved through the inking up. The horse imagery goes back to my childhood days, when I was taken to the Barnum & Bailey three top circus.  The ponies and horses left an indelible memory that still influences my perception of horses to date.

Large Mare - smoked ceramics and mixed media. H 55 x W 87 x  D 23 cm

Sketch of animal skull and 'Screeching War Horse - Apocalypse Series'

In 2003 I was selected to take part in the International Workshop in Ceramic Art in Tokoname, Japan.  This event has had a huge influence on my work.  It gave me the confidence find my own creative style. 

    
                

To see more examples of my work  click on "Gallery of Work" from the menu above.  To aquire my prints, go to 'Work for Sale'.  You can also email me with questions and comments on elizabethlhaider@aol.com

HAIDER STUDIOS                                                All images © E & Y Haider 2007                                                Powered by Artlook