"The Twilight of My Years"

Reference photo for "The Twilight Of My Years"

In a few days I'll be having surgery to correct a crooked leg that is causing all kinds of problems the older I get. Age is catching up to me, very much against my will. I won't go into the gory details except to say that it won't be pleasant and recovery will be a long process.

I took this photo of my horse, Scottie, two years ago when he was very sick and loved it the moment I saw it onscreen. He and I seem to be following a similar path in our senior years. He recovered from his bad sinus infection, a consequence of Cushings Disease and is now on medication to control the Cushings. But, he still has chronic hip issues and worsening arthritis in his neck. He doesn't always get around very well.

This past year for me has been one of a string of issues with shoulders, hips, knees and ankle. I don't always get around very well, either.

I loved the wistful, pensive look captured on Scottie's face in the photo. It's as if he's trying to see into the future to see what's ahead for himself. I'm feeling very much the same way as I contemplate the aftermath of this surgery. Therefore, now seems the appropriate time to paint this image and try to capture what we are both facing in our "twilight" years.

Tomorrow I'll transfer the drawing to canvas, and after surgery I'll have plenty of time to work on it. I've always envisioned this to be a fairly large painting (for me). It will be a 24x20 oil on canvas, and I have hopes of it going to a museum show later this year.