Gallery 1261 | 4/23-5/14 | Denver, CO

Ranch Lands

Jill Soukup presents new horse works at a show at Gallery 1261 in Denver

At a young age, Jill Soukup moved with her family from New York to Colorado. It was there in the Centennial State, known for its pristine landscapes and close link to nature, that she discovered the horse as an art subject. Decades later, the artist’s love for horses has only grown deeper. Buckskin Baby, oil on canvas, 20 x 26¾"

Soukup will have a new horse-themed show opening April 9 at Denver’s Gallery 1261, where she will unveil her newest horse paintings, including works inspired by her visits to two Colorado ranches. “I’ve been using reference from one particular group of ranches that I really enjoy visiting. They’re called Ranchlands, and they have the Medano-Zapata Ranch and the Chico Basin Ranch. They have both bison and cattle, and I never tire from those locations,” Soukup says, adding that one of the reasons she has gravitated toward those ranches is they practice a unique kind of conservation that bills itself as more sustainable and ecological. “They work with the lands to protect them, and that is something that speaks to me.”Ruby & Raven, oil on canvas, 54 x 72"

Soukup’s work is painted with a light palette that draws its power from softer colors, including blue, violet and a pink so delicate and gentle it can almost fade into whatever color it’s next to. “Over the years I’ve had a shift in my work, and I don’t really know how it happened. I think it just evolved as I studied color theory and also as I practiced in layering color. My painting process has grown more sophisticated over the years, and some of my color feels out of my control—it’s just happening,” she says. “You know that 10,000-hours rule, how people don’t truly learn anything until they’ve done it for 10,000 hours, well that’s where I feel like I’m at. I’ve been doing it so long that my paint just now happens naturally.”Bone & Trace (No. 2), oil on canvas, 24 x 72"

Another aspect of Soukup’s work is her increasingly interesting compositions of her horse subjects. She may paint horses all the time, but she’s never run out of views to explore. And she’s not afraid to frame them very tightly, even if it means cutting off their back or lower halves. In one of the newer works, Buckskin Baby, she not only crops in real tight on a horse’s head, but she obscures the horse’s mouth and nose behind another subject. The resulting image allows the painting to play with the opposing forms, the abstract shapes and the contrast from the light and dark horses. It’s a magical piece that she makes work even though she may be breaking some basic composition rules. “You have to know the rules to break them,” she says. “I’ve been studying the age-old principles of composition, particularly abstract composition. I get all geeked out about this stuff because it’s fun to simplify these patterns into a design.”White Duo, oil on canvas, 33 x 28"