One of my favorite pastimes is searching for Morgan
related items on ebay. A few months back, I was really excited to come across a print at
auction of a pretty palomino Morgan. The artist was Bj. de Castro. The listing on ebay
said the art was created as a logo for Morgan breeder and Rainbow member, Wendy LeGate of
Old Growth Oak Morgans in California. I was curious as to which horse had inspired the
piece, and asked Wendy about it.
“I met Bj. de
Castro a couple of years ago and began talking with her about a logo for my OGO Prefix
(Old Growth Oak Morgans),” says Wendy. “Well as I am sure you can tell by the
name, I sure love those old growth oak trees. I sent her tons and tons of pictures I took
of all sort of Morgans, my own and others. She liked them all, but some of the pictures of
Sandy Cleveland’s flaxen chestnut stallion,
Sequoia Red Zinfindel, caught her eye. When she painted my painting she
used him for inspiration. It’s not Zinny but it is of his likeness. The painting is out of
this world in detail. The prints were made by the highest quality printing company. The
few prints that she is having made on canvas LOOK like oil paintings, feel like oil
paintings, you cannot tell that they were not painted or are not originals.”
“Anyway
before all this started I told BJ that whatever the result she had my permission to make
limited reproductions and an open edition. I am hoping that some art lovers out there will
appreciate that classic Morgan stance and beauty.”
This particular painting was a one year process. The
artist, Bj. de Castro is self-taught; her paintings are in private and corporate
collections throughout the world. She has also exhibited Internationally. Based in
California, the artist is represented by Frames By You in Thousand Oaks, California, and
several International online galleries. Her painting style and technique involves many
transparent layers. Each layer must be allowed to completely dry before the next wash of
color is applied. To see more of her work, visit her on-line store complete with current
ebay listings at Bj. de
Castro eBay Store.
Laura Behning is a renowned author in the Morgan horse community and has written
articles for The Morgan Horse magazine, Simply Morgan, Classic Morgan
Admirers, the Rainbow Morgan Horse Association Newsletter, and many club
publications over the years. One of her current interests is the ongoing Silver Dapple Morgans Project.
She is heavily involved in the Rainbow
Morgan Horse Association as the current president and editor of the club publications.
She has always loved the classic, typy Morgan-the equine epitome. This curvy, pretty
headed horse is reflected in her artwork and
equine sculpture. She has a small
breeding program that strives to preserve older Morgan bloodlines of all families. Visit
her site at Brookridge Morgans.
Wendy LeGate is a distinguished Morgan Horse Breeder in California and owner of Old
Growth Oak Morgans, where she breeds and cares for the purest lines of the original
Justin Morgan horse. Her pride & joy is Canyon of Quietude
whose sire is a grandson of Jubilee King and his dam’s sire is a double grandson of
Jubilee King. Canyon’s dam has three further crosses to Jubilee King through her dam.
Behind Canyon are the three full siblings who resulted from breeding Jubilee King to the
Old Vermont mare, Townshend Lass, she who had the highest percent of Justin Morgan’s
blood in her era and even to today. She is also a loyal patron of the arts and hopes to
combine the two passions to bring recognition and tribute to the bloodlines of Jubilee
King. Visit her site at OGO.