One of the most fascinating (and most difficult!) things you can do is paint portraits. It’s not so much about the likeness — that alone is blood, sweat and tears — but above all about capturing a personality, whether that’s a person or an animal.

People? Inge has her doubts there. But dogs or horses? With great pleasure!

1/ It always turns out different from what you imagined
Be aware up front that it’s the creative process itself that ultimately shapes your horse’s portrait — together with what you tell Inge about who your horse is or was, and above all her own artistic vision. That’s why you came to her in the first place, after all. Let yourself be surprised!

2/ Digital, acrylic, giclée
These days Inge works mainly digitally — whether you’re pushing pixels around or oil paint, it’s simply a different material with different effects. Your horse portrait will be made digitally too, then printed on special, heavy paper with pigment (so no, not toner — pigment behaves like paint). That’s called giclée. Acrylic may come into it as well, if you’d like real horsehair or grass worked into the piece, or want to give your horse 3D wings. Anything is possible.

3/ Quanto costa?

A portrait starts at 600 euros. The price goes up with the size; framing and further finishing aren’t included.

Half is payable up front, the balance on delivery. That deposit covers the work that happens regardless — the research, the sketches, the build-up — and isn’t refunded if you change your mind along the way.

4/ How big should your portrait be?
Do you already know where you’ll hang it? Then measure first how big it can be. Landscape or portrait? Do bear in mind: the framed size is always a little larger than the work itself.

5/ Is there a particular pose you’d like to see?
The whole horse, or just a head study? Was there another horse portrait that made an impression on you? Was your horse imposing, or a big softie? Inge likes to know these things, because they determine the pose your horse will (roughly) take in the portrait.

6/ Do you have a preference for a particular colour or setting?
Do you have a blue living room, or an orange one? Dark or light, in the grass or backlit against the sun? More towards light, or more towards dark? Inge does her best — but she also takes a little artistic licence.

7/ Should real mane or tail hair from your horse be worked in?
Make sure Inge gets plenty of it, because it’s always a matter of finding what works best for this particular portrait. Not all of the hair will end up being used, and not all of it survives the process.

8/ Send plenty of close-up photos of your horse
Head, legs, markings, spots, the colour and shape of the eyes and ears, how long the mane is, the colour gradient in the tail, what the nostrils look like, the mouth, the direction the hair swirls on your horse’s crown, and so on… It all contributes to how recognisable your horse will be. Even if your horse will be portrayed from the left, photos of the right side are informative. Better too many photos than too few — and yes, preferably close up.

9/ Feedback
At a certain point Inge will show you the work. By then the mood and the pose are settled, and it’s purely about recognisability: “the nose could be a bit wider”, that kind of adjustment. One round, two at most — after that it’s finished.