Horse Paintings By Equine Artist Cathy Rycroft

HORSE ART BY EQUINE ARTIST CATHY RYCROFT
(www.geocities.com/rycroftart)

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CATHY RYCROFT
Cathy Rycroft is a hands on local artist who works with her husband Kelly Rycroft training thoroughbred racehorses at Hastings Entertainment in Vancouver B.C. Canada.

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada), Cathy's love for nature and horses has been instilled in her since she was a toddler. As a child, she was engrossed in 4-H activities and horseshows. In her teen years, she moved to Alberta and became a certified Canadian Equestrian Federation Riding Instructor. During her free time, she could be found sketching and drawing horses. Having spent most of her life around horses, Cathy could not help but use them as the subject of much of her artwork. Encouraged by her natural artistic talents and desire to hone her skills, she studied Art in Edmonton with renowned artist Eileen Raucher-Sutton (Sutton Art).

Her artwork took a unique turn after meeting Kelly. The Rycroft name is well known in Canadian thoroughbred circles. It quickly became apparent that Cathy had found her niche. She began specializing in depicting horses in sport, and her love for racehorses was evident in her work.

What started as gifts for owners and family soon turned into commissioned art works for several prominent owners across Canada and the US. Shortly after, she was commissioned for a piece for the leading jockey competition involving Canadian and American riders. Being one of the favorite artists of Western Canada's racehorse community, many of her paintings now hang in the private collections of the proud owners, jockeys and trainers. Owners who have commissioned portraits of their beloved horses are amazed by her close attention to detail and her ability to capture the essence of thoroughbreds.

Over the years, her original work and limited edition prints have been exhibited in the United States and Canada. In 1994, Province newspaper "Hoss Talk" columnist, Tom Wolski, ran an article on Cathy as "one of the hottest names at Hastings Park as a gifted equine artist". He later followed up with a TV spot featuring Cathy Rycroft on his "Sport of Kings" show. More recently, her limited edition prints are for sale at Hastings Park gift shops and downtown Vancouver at U.M.A. Shop ltd.

The past years have been busy and successful for Cathy and Kelly in Vancouver, B.C. Based on percentage of wins, places and shows per start, Kelly has been ranked in the top ten racehorse trainers in Western Canada for the past ten years. Both Cathy and Kelly can often be seen in the winner's circle at Hastings Park.

As for Cathy, new customers are appreciating her artistic talent and fine eye for details in subjects other than horses - cats, dogs, cars, whales and family portraits are just a few examples. Two more interesting and challenging commission works have included an Indian warrior painted on stretched leather skin and a cowboy riding a bucking horse painted on a cow skull.

But ultimately, be it one end of the pitchfork or the other end of a paintbrush; groom or pony girl; raising horses or capturing their images onto canvas, these fine majestic creatures have been and will always be an important part of her life.