Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better.
~André Gide
Please Note: All work and photos on this page are COPYRIGHTED to Samantha Kroese. Please see bottom of page for more copyright information. Do not use any photos or information contained on this site without written and signed permission, it is NOT public domain. I apologize for so many copyright notices on everything, but there have been too many problems with artists and sim games regarding photos listed online.
*******************************************************************************************
At this time my books are not officially open to the public, but I may consider a trade here and there for things that I want/need, you can see my wanted list here: Wantlist 2006
2007 General Pricelist:
************************************
Please be patient and wait for photos to load. Thanks for looking and God Bless.
************************************
Blue Blacks
Please note, I only paint blue black. For why I won't paint sunburnt please scroll past the pictures. All pictures are listed from newest to oldest. Please note that this in no way represents all horses I've painted in 16 years, I've trimmed the galleries to only hold the best examples of horses done in the most recent years.
2006-2007 Repaints:
Devastator
Breyer Huckleberry Bey repainted to shaded blue black, no markings. Finished September 2007. Owned by Samantha Kroese - pictures unfortunately don't show much of his shading, he is shaded with three different shades of black but he didn't like to be photographed. There's also no brown whatsoever on him except his eyes, even though it might look like it in the first photo on some screens.
Regarding the Sunburnt Black and why I won't paint them:
I have studied black horses my entire life with the sole purpose and goal of breeding only true black horses. I have worked on a Friesian farm that bred top quality Friesians. Black horses are my personal obsession.
Black is described in most breed books as being black with no brown whatsoever. A sunburnt black with brown on them would be considered undesirable and is NOT a good representation of it's color. Sunburnt black horses are rarely if ever seen in a halter showring. You will not see them advertised with pictures of them sunburnt either. It is NOT desired. Owners of black horses that show in professional halter rings, ESPECIALLY Friesians, take great care that their horses do NOT fade at all. Period. They would never show a sunburnt or faded black horse, especially not in a breed that is known for non-fading blue black color. So while sunburnt black may be an acceptable color for a performance horse or a backyard horse, a halter showring horse would not show sunburnt black. Sunburning is not a desired trait in black horses.
I have seen an extraordinary amount of sunburnt black horses being painted and shown in the last few years in this hobby. I will not add to them. A sunburnt black horse is unrealistic for the halter showring. There are other ways of getting a black to not be flat and boring other than sunburning them. A true black horse should shine with a healthy blue tint.
My blacks are that. Black. They are painted black, highlighted with very dark blue, then shaded with black that has just enough brown to made it a different shade of black than the base color. Both highlight and shading colors are barely visible, only enough to give the horse a rounded color, not a flat color. Blacks are my first love, my favorite color, and a color I have specialized in for 16 years. They may appear too 'blue' in the photos on your screen but that is in bright lighting to show off the highlighting.
All other artists will paint sunburnt black. Their sunburnt blacks may beat my blue blacks in a live show ring. I'm more concerned about painting an accurate black horse than I am about what misguided judges in a live show arena might think about black horses. So I leave it up to you to choose, but if choosing a sunburnt black please pick another artist to paint your horse.
***********************************************************************
This website was created and is maintained by Samantha Kroese. Click my name to email me with any comments or questions about this website or its contents.
Copyright notice
All content is copyright 2007 Samantha Kroese, and can not be reproduced in any form for any reason without written consent. Rights only granted for limited display on this website only. If any content from this page appears anywhere else in ANY form we WILL seek out appropriate action.
These photos are not for public use, they are not public domain. You cannot use them for anything, period, including artwork, direct linking to other sites, sim games, picture collections. Using these photos or content in any manner besides display on this website only is against the law.
All horses painted by VnV Studios are one of a kind originals. This is not a gallery of 'ideas' for other artists. Please do not copy my artwork.
Last updated July 20, 2007.