Horses have shared the history of humankind since earliest times. My mother was born into a world where horses were virtually the only form of land transportation other than using one’s own legs. Those days are now past in almost the entire world. However, horses still have a place as a satisfying form of outdoor recreation. Great enthusiasm for the breeding and keeping of horses in many parts of rural North America remains to this day. I saw this scene while driving through British Columbia ranchland one atmospheric winter day. The farmer had unloaded hay in a line from his tractor. This concentrated the feeding horses in a longitudinal clump. Since my abstract painting days, I have been attracted to black and white interlocking shapes reminiscent of the work of Franz Kline. That, to me, created the power of that central cluster of horses which I see as almost one form. - Robert Bateman