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Shirley Heights at Sandringham
by Julie A. Wear
From the collection of Her Majesty,
Queen Elizabeth II

Shirley Heights was a very exciting horse to paint! He had an extraordinairily beautiful head, a rich dark bay coat and could be difficult to handle. When I was at the Royal Stud to paint him, he would rear high into the air, paw the ground while arching his neck and then rear again. What a handful he was! And what great fun to watch!

As this was a formal portrait, I had to paint Shirley Heights in a more controlled demeanor. I positioned him with his full-time groom, David, in the front yard of the Royal Stud where the famous life size statue of Persimmon stands. Though tempting to use it in the painting, I laid the composition out so that the bronze is just out of sight. I sketched out the buildings of The Royal Stud extending from one end of the painting to the other for correct perspective and to convey a sense of "being there". In the foreground is Shirley Height's cooler, emblazoned with the Royal Cypher.

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