Western – Equine Paintings

Wind Torn Weather Worn

Watercolor barn and horse painting by Janet Tarjan Erl.

Wind Torn Weather Worn

Medium: Watercolor/Gouache, Image Size: 19.5”h x 25.5″w, 2010.

This weather worn barn was the old Holcomb barn near Yreka, California. It no longer exists, but it lives on as memories, photos, and paintings such as this one. I’ve done a series of paintings of this old barn and like the compositions it has, as well as its subtle colors of gray, blue, and brown. It is an artist’s treasure trove.

The horse resources came from my sister-in-law’s horse. I contrasted the liveliness of the horse with its rich color, shape, and personality against the decaying angular shapes of the barn. The horse is just ready to round the corner of the barn and head out to pasture. I placed the horse in the perfect spot to create some tension in the composition in order to get the viewer to ponder what’s beyond the corner.

Original is sold.

Reproductions available on Etsy.

Note: Image Watermark of Copyright and/or Website are NOT on the Original.

Spring Splendor

Watercolor painting two horses in landscape by Janet Tarjan Erl.

Spring Splendor

Medium: Watercolor, Image Size: 14″h x 22.75″w, 2003.

I always enjoyed spring in Siskiyou County, California. Deep green forests fringed the lush, green pastures that abounded everywhere in the valleys and rolling hills. This painting is a good example of the spring beauty of the County. The location is on the Burton Ranch in the Yreka Creek Valley. It can be seen from Hwy 3 just southwest of Yreka. This buckskin and bay look into this scenic pasture. I deliberately painted them looking to the landscape rather than away from it. By doing this, the viewer participates with the horses by looking into the scene. This was such a beautiful, bucolic setting.

Original is sold.

Note: Image Watermark of Copyright and/or Website are NOT on the Original.

Gathering in the Meadow

Watercolor landscape and horse painting by Janet Tarjan Erl.

Gathering in the Meadow

Medium: Watercolor/Gouache, Image Size: 20″h x 28 1/2″w, 1999.

I painted this watercolor/gouache of a handsome pack of horses in a hanging meadow. I often saw this diverse pack of horses near my home on Black Mountain in Siskiyou County, California. I painted them in this scene of a meadow I hiked to near Middle Boulder Lake in the Trinity Alps Wilderness in northern California. It is a beautiful location and I thought it complimented the natural beauty of the horses. I used much artistic license of combining many different horses and landscape elements to make a lovely horse painting.

Original is sold.

Reproduction Available on Etsy.

Note: Image Watermark of Copyright and/or Website are NOT on the Original.

Roundin’ Up the Friskies

Watercolor landscape, horse and cowboy painting by Janet Tarjan Erl.

Roundin' Up the Friskies

Medium: Watercolor, Image Size: 23 3/4″h x 35 3/4″w, 1994.

This painting was influenced by some frisky horses I saw on the Newton Ranch in Scott Valley, California. I combined them with some cowboys I saw at a rodeo in Etna, California. Together, they made an energetic artwork that represents the half wild nature of horses in springtime. I placed these horses and cowboys into a background of the Metcalf Wilderness in Montana that I saw while on a trip to Yellowstone National Park. I used my creative skills to put all the elements together to make a fun watercolor.

Original is sold.

Note: Image Watermark of Copyright and/or Website are NOT on the Original.

Horses In the Wild Meadow

Watercolor painting of horses in mountain meadow by Janet Tarjan Erl.

Horses In the Wild Meadow

Medium: Watercolor, Image Size: 18”h x 24”w, 1996.

When I did this watercolor of these horses, I didn’t intend for them to be so well matched with the snow-covered mountains in the background, but because three of the horses were paint horses splotched with a lot of white, they almost blended into the background. I saw this spring meadow on the east-side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California.

Original is sold.

Note: Image Watermark of Copyright and/or Website are NOT on the Original.

Pa’s Ropin

Watercolor painting by Janet Tarjan Erl.

Pa's Ropin

Medium: Watercolor, Image Size: 14 1/2″h x 18 3/4″w, 1995.

My sister photographed these two youngsters while at her neighbors branding. It was a memorable image I couldn’t resist painting. The boys were watching their father branding cattle the old-fashioned way. This was painted in watercolor.

Original is sold.

Note: Image Watermark of Copyright and/or Website are NOT on the Original.

Networking

Medium: Watercolor, Image Size: 16”h x 20.5”w, 1999.

When I saw these two cowboys chatting, I thought it would make a good painting. This type of networking, of chatting face to face, is done in the old-fashioned style. The barn scene was along Greenhorn Rd. near Yreka, California.

Original is sold.

Note: Image Watermark of Copyright and/or Website are NOT on the Original.

Moving the Cows and Calves

Watercolor painting cowboy on horseback moving cows and calves by Janet Tarjan Erl.

Moving the Cows and Calves

Medium: Oil, Image Size: ?, 1997.

This modern-day western painting depicts a cowboy moving a few cows and calves to a different pasture. The scene is along the Yellowstone River area in Montana near Yellowstone National Park.

Original is sold.

Note: Image Watermark of Copyright and/or Website are NOT on the Original.

Sweet Summer

Watercolor landscape and horses painting by Janet Tarjan Erl.

Sweet Summer

Medium: Oil, Image Size: 22″h x 28″w, 2000.

This painting was created to capture the quintessence of horses in a mountain meadow. This is quite a collection of varied horses. It includes a bay, pinto, appaloosa, mule, and two sorrels. I created this from various resources of horses I had photographed. The setting also was comprised of many elements, but the main scene is Big Meadows in the Marble Mountain Wilderness in Siskiyou County, California.

Original is sold.

Reproductions available on Etsy.

Note: Image Watermark of Copyright and/or Website are NOT on the Original.

Scouting the Summer Range

Oil painting Cowboys on horseback in the mountains by Janet Tarjan Erl.

Scouting the Summer Range

Medium: Oil, Image Size: 22″h x 32″w, 1994.

The location of this setting is in the Trinity Alps Wilderness near East Boulder Lake, Siskiyou County, California. I painted these three cowboys in this scene because I felt it made an interesting painting. I photographed these cowboys at one my brother-in-law’s brandings on his ranch.

Original is sold.

Note: Image Watermark of Copyright and/or Website are NOT on the Original.