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Being asked to write an entry for artist Kit Hall's work is an honor. Though I make my living with words, I know I will struggle to communicate her depth of skill, sensitivity, and penetrating insights into the lives of one of the Lord's best and favorite creatures...the horse. Like most gifted artists, Kit sees the world differently than we do. When we see her finished work, we see the world from a perspective previously unknown to us. We see the world through the eyes of the horse. We see their world better and more clearly than before. Here's a case in point...
Over the years, Kit and I have shared ownership of some horses - or being owned by them, if you prefer. I had those we shared for a time, then she did. When they were with me, I knew them well. I fed them, and groomed them, and kept them sound - and I would have claimed I knew them well. Later when they were with her, she painted them. When I saw her work, I knew immediately that she had fed them better, groomed them more, and knew them better than me.
When Kit Hall paints horses, we know them better too. Her work allows us to see them in a new way. The lines she draws, the colors she uses, and the position she places them in teaches us they are more than we expected - more than we knew. She causes us to see them as beings who are capable of love and loss, sadness and joy, and a rich complex existence - just like us. The awareness comes they deserve more than to be treated or ridden like some machine. Rather, she helps us see they are living, sentient beings far more intelligent and social than we knew before. We learn from Kit Hall that horses are not our slaves, but living beings with dignity - and we learn if handled properly - the horse may well become the best of all things...a willing partner.
Michael Johnson
Author of Healing Shine
2007 Western Writers of America Spur Award
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