Earl Meets Barney depicts young Earl Dewey Fisher alongside Barney, the clever cutting horse remembered in Chapter 4 of his life history. Originally created as an ACEO using mechanical pencil, watercolor pen, India ink pen, and acrylic paint pen, the finished artwork was digitally edited with Snapseed and Procreate for reproduction as a fine-art print.
Earl Meets Barney is a mixed-media ACEO artwork inspired by Chapter 4 of History of Earl Dewey Fisher, the preserved life story of my great-great-grandfather, Earl Dewey Fisher.
In this chapter, Earl remembers learning to ride a horse when he was very young. His first experience was frightening. His brother lifted him onto a great big horse, and Earl remembered being so small and scared that all he could do was sit there and cry. Eventually, though, he learned to ride.
One of the horses Earl remembered especially well was the family's cutting horse, Barney.
A cutting horse was used to separate cattle from a herd and needed to be extremely quick when turning. Earl remembered having to hang on tightly while riding, although he proudly noted that he never fell off.
Barney was also remarkably smart and had quite a personality.
Although he was gentle and wouldn't intentionally hurt anyone, Barney had several tricks for anyone who tried to ride him without a saddle. When someone attempted to climb onto his back, Barney could reach around, grab their pant leg, and pull them back down. If someone climbed onto a wagon or another object and tried to jump onto him, Barney would calmly wait until the right moment—and then step aside.
He was an escape artist, too. Barney had to be secured with a double knot because he could work a regular knot loose and set himself free. If the barn door was closed with a hook, he could even use his lips to flip the hook and let himself out.
Earl Meets Barney depicts young Earl standing beside the much larger horse, capturing an early moment in a relationship that became one of the memorable stories of Earl's childhood.
This artwork began with a mechanical pencil outline. I used Da Vinci Eye as a drawing aid to help me trace the composition, while artist tape kept the small ACEO securely in place as I worked.
After adding the remaining sketch details, I used a kneaded eraser to lighten the pencil outline.
I then developed the finished traditional artwork using watercolor pen, India ink pen, and acrylic paint pen, adding the colors, outlines, highlights, shadows, and small details that brought Earl, Barney, and the barn setting to life.
After completing the physical artwork, I used Snapseed and Procreate to digitally edit and prepare the image for reproduction as a fine-art print.
Traditional art materials: Mechanical pencil, kneaded eraser, watercolor pen, India ink pen, acrylic paint pen, and artist tape
Drawing aid: Da Vinci Eye
Digital editing: Snapseed and Procreate
Original artwork format: ACEO
Earl Meets Barney is part of my ongoing The Biography of Earl Dewey Fisher art series.
Through this project, I'm working through Earl's preserved history and creating artwork inspired by the people, places, animals, and memories he described. Each illustration gives me an opportunity to preserve another piece of my family's history visually while sharing Earl's story with others.
This artwork represents Chapter 4 and accompanies Episode 5: Barney the Cutting Horse.
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