Welcome to our latest hand painted horse portrait, custom oil painting commission by Nicholas Beall. It is of a stunning horse called Elmo. We are thrilled to share the story behind the beautiful horse portrait, commissioned by David Waddams as a special wedding anniversary gift for his wife Caroline.
David provided a specific photo of Elmo taken at a show, which they both loved. However, since the original image had a busy background, we worked on several mock-ups to refine the setting. Initially, we retained part of the landscape, but we all felt it was too distracting. Instead, we went through various background tones, ranging from light to dark, to find the perfect tone for Elmo. In the end, we opted for a mid-toned background, which allowed Elmo’s white markings to stand out beautifully.
The Horse Painting Process
Nicholas created this 18 x 14 inch oil portrait on fine linen canvas, carefully painting by hand to bring Elmo’s personality and character to life. We have shared two early progress images showing how the painting developed in stages. The first below is the sepia wash stage. This time no wash in the background! There are no real rules when it comes to painting, you just kind of go with the flow of the portrait, commission and subject!
Here you can see Nicholas has covered the canvas with paint and blocked in all the main areas of the background. He has also started to block in the horse. Sadly I didn’t take any other stages while Nicholas was painting. This usually happens because either I am at my desk working on drawings or am not in the studio. My aim for 2025.. take more photos!
Adding the Final Details
The finishing touches make all the difference in a realistic oil painting. Nicholas captured Elmo’s soft muzzle, expressive eyes, and subtle variations in his coat texture beautifully. The close-up images showcase Nicholas’s hand, adding the final highlights and depth to the portrait.
A particularly challenging aspect of the portrait was capturing Elmo’s intricate leather tack. Our clients often ask whether detailed tack has additional costs, but we always include it in our pricing. However, we do recommend larger canvas sizes for horses with intricate bridles and tack. The bigger format allows for greater precision when painting delicate buckles and straps.
You can see the size of the paintbrush, it’s small and admittedly it isn’t the smallest size he uses. However you can see comparing the size of his fingers against the tack and how small the buckles are. Using smaller sized canvases would have made it very difficult to paint.
Hand Painted Horse Portrait – Custom Oil Painting Commission
Here is the final photo of the oil painting. This portrait was a very difficult one to take photos of, as the background showed very differently in different lights. I took video for David and his wife to view as it was a more natural light when moving around the portrait. Another must for 2025… take more video!!
A Special Studio Visit & Unveiling
Instead of shipping the painting, David and Caroline decided to visit our studio in person to collect the portrait. We welcomed them to the cottage with a cup of tea and cake before heading into the studio for the big reveal. Although they had seen photos and videos of the painting, nothing compares to viewing an original oil portrait in person. Seeing their reaction made the entire process even more rewarding for us!
Client Feedback – A Heartfelt Response
After taking the portrait home, David sent us a wonderful message:
“Hi, it was lovely to meet you both last weekend. I keep walking past Elmo’s portrait and stopping to admire the skill taken to create it. For some reason, it looks even better here than it did in your studio—I think because the natural light here is warmer. I’m so glad I quit illustration and had an earlier career in graphics, as I would never have been able to attain this level of competence—it’s outstanding! Caroline, I’m sure, will message you separately on our behalf, but I just wanted to send my personal thank you too. All the best, David.”
Caroline later sent us this lovely message –
“Dear Melanie and Nicholas,
I absolutely love Elmo’s portrait, it’s so lifelike. It’s sitting on a temporary stand on the landing to keep it safe until we get it framed. I stop there often to admire the painting! It reminds me of the many happy times riding Elmo over the years. Thank you for inviting us to your home to pick up the painting. It was lovely to meet you both in person and to see your studio where the painting came to life. Neighbours have recommended a local framer, so our next job will be to pay them a visit and sort out a frame. Thank you once again for the beautiful painting – a wedding anniversary present I’ll treasure forever! Best wishes, Caroline.”
Commission Your Own Horse Portrait
If you’d love to commission a realistic oil painting of your horse, we’d be delighted to create one for you. Whether you’d like to include detailed bridles and tack or prefer a simpler head study, each commission is completely unique. We will work with you to create your very own painting.
Hand Painted Horse Portrait – Custom Oil Painting Commission
We hope that you have enjoyed reading about our Hand Painted Horse Portrait – Custom Oil Painting Commission blog post. If you would like to read more about our work, perhaps another horse portrait, you might like to read about Elly. It was an absolutely stunning oil painting of a horse completed in 2018. We would also love to hear from you, if you would like to comment please feel free to below. We love hearing from our readers. Also don’t forget you can sign up to our newsletter below. Some of the posts on our blog will be delivered to your inbox.
Thank you again to David and Caroline for trusting us with this special commission—it was a joy to paint Elmo!
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