Artist Suzy Spence conveys a wealth of emotion in her equestrian-themed paintings. Touching on society portraiture, political imagery, equestrian sporting paintings, and contemporary fashion photography, there is an air of female defiance and haughty sensitivities that feel alive and ghostly all at once. A sea of fresh female faces stare directly into the eyes of the viewer, intimating intense individuality and a sense of another time and place, while also of the immediate now. Inky streaks of deep black build intimate portraits of unknown women: powerful, raw, and dressed to the nines, with the playful symbology of whips and tall boots. These females are armed with sultry stares of near military strength. “I’ve gotten to the point where I have full command of my medium,” says the painter. “I have full command of my subject.”
Sitting placidly with top hat and cigarette in hand, the subject of Unbuttoned absently attends to a loyal horse eating from her hand. She appears to be enjoying a restful moment follo
