Horses are such beautiful creatures it’s no wonder that a huge amount of art is dedicated to them. If you’re starting to collect horse art, you might be a little bewildered about the range out there. But don’t worry, I’m here to help!
In this post I’ll let you in on some well known and not so well known ways to find original and high quality horse art — without breaking the bank. You don’t need to hire a decorator to do this for you! At least I’m of the opinion that you don’t.
Even if you absolutely hate decorating and shopping, there’s something about the experience of picking your own horse artwork that’s super satisfying and really creates a personal touch.
Like for instance, I absolutely love finding artworks that remind me of horses I used to ride. They can bring back really fond memories. Or buying artworks that depict my dream ranch and the landscape surrounding it – I think of that almost like a vision board!
Have fun with it!
If you love horses (I’m sure you do since you’re reading this) then you probably love decorating your house and barn with a ton of horse art. But maybe you don’t have a ton of time or money to spend scoping out art galleries or searching for the perfect artist on the internet?
Not to worry! I’ve done the work for you and I’m happy to teach you the art of becoming a savvy horse art collector – at least my version of one 🙂
As an artist myself, I love looking for art online in addition to doing my own for the house.
There’s a few places you can find awesome horse art that I’ll discuss. I’ll start with the most straightforward way – on the internet from the comfort of your couch.
Then I’ll move on to trickier strategies like navigating social media. There can be quite a number of developing artists that are not ready to sell yet, so you need to sift through before you find some great pieces.
Lastly, I’ll cover how to find good art galleries or independent artists if you like to shop in person. The nice thing about finding independent artists is that you can actually commission your own work – if you are willing to open that wallet a little wider.
Great idea alert!
A great idea that a friend of mine had was to commission paintings of all her horses by one artist. Then she had them put up at the front of each of their stalls in her barn. To top it off, she got the horse’s name engraved in a wooden block that she hung above the painting. Isn’t that just awesome?
Okay, let’s get started!
Looking for Horse Art Online
When you’re looking for horse art online, you want to go to the databases that serious artists would flock to in order to try and get commissions for their artwork.
There are 3 main databases I always go to:
- FineArtAmerica.com
- DeviantArt.com
- Etsy.com
I will say, Etsy is not so much artwork as crafts, but sometimes you will find amazing artwork there. And if you are at all into multimedia artwork (which I very much am!) it’s an awesome place to shop. You might also stumble onto some crafts and other stuff that you like the look of.
Horse Art on Fine Art America
Fine Art America calls themselves “the world’s largest art marketplace and print-on-demand technology company.”
They are a platform that’s been around since 2006 that connects buyers and sellers of art. As an artist, you can sign up, create your profile and start posting your artwork to the platform. The types of artists that you can find on Fine Art America are fine artists, photographers, illustrators, brands, and graphic designers.
Here’s an example of horse art titled “Unleashed” by Silvana Gabudean Dobre:
One thing that I find really cool is that you can also create stuff out of the art prints that you find. So you can not only buy wall art but other types of stuff with the print you like on it – anything from mugs to yoga mats – and they’ll ship it to you.
You want to go to Fine Art America for prints – you can get various types of prints from them:
- Wood prints
- Acrylic prints
- Framed prints
- Metal prints
- Canvas prints
- Art prints
Here’s another example of horse art titled “Secretariat at Claiborne” by Thomas Allen Pauly:
And as I mentioned above, they also offer a ton of other stuff that you can put the image you’re interested in on.
It’s extremely affordable but do you have to accept that you won’t get an original here. Although if you don’t mind reaching out to artists that you really like and doing a little bit of back and forth, I’m sure you could commission some artwork for a higher price.
The nice thing is that Fine Art America also offers a 30-day money back guarantee in case there are any issues with your order.
Horse Art at DeviantArt
DeviantArt calls themselves: “the largest online social network for artists and art enthusiasts, and a platform for emerging and established artists to exhibit, promote, and share their works with an enthusiastic, art-centric community.”
Founded in 2000, they too offer a platform for artists to sell their work online very similarly to Fine Art America.
Here’s an example of horse art titled “Wind” by Julyart:
I would say the biggest differences are the feel of the artwork, the types of artists that are attracted to each platform and the price. DeviantArt is generally more expensive, I find.
I also find DeviantArt can be tricky to navigate. You can’t just type into the search bar and expect the work you’re looking for to show up. You have to do a little bit of digging.
What I recommend is first just typing something broad like “horse” into the shop search bar, then picking out an image you like. Once you’re on a page of horse art you like, a bunch of related artworks will come up underneath and on the side bar. From there, you’ll soon be sucked into a ton of neverending artwork you’ll love!
Again, the issue here is that you’re not getting originals. The prints that DeviantArt offers are:
- Art Print
- Canvas Print
- Photo
Here’s an example of horse art titled “Horse” by ManiaAdun:
Horse Art on Etsy
Our last online one stop shop to find awesome horse art is ETSY! This the first place that you will be able to not only find prints but also original works of art.
Etsy is also a marketplace, but rather than targeting fine artists, they target all creatives and really encourage interaction and human connection. They facilitate groups and comments in order to connect artists as well as artists and buyers.
I know to some people it really doesn’t matter whether an artwork is original or not but to others it’s the decider on whether they take the piece home.
Personally, I buy both prints and originals but I must say, there is something special about having the original, especially if the artist is one you really admire and like the work of.
Of course the trouble with original items is that they are quite a bit more expensive. You’re now looking at hundreds of dollars as opposed to dozens of dollars.
Here’s an example of horse art titled “A109 Horse” by Daofu Ming measuring 35×47″ and priced at $680:
Looking for Horse Art on Social Media
It can be frustrating at times looking for horse art on social media. But the reason I love doing it is because every once in a while you can stumble on a great artist that you love and can commission work from them for a much lower price than you would get elsewhere.
Also if you develop a long-term relationship with them, you can get bundles of artwork too at a discount!
It can be tough to find the right artists though and you have to be willing to do a little bit more digging than you would on the online platforms. But when you do it’s definitely worth it.
#HorseArt on Instagram
On Instagram, I look for accounts based on hashtags. The hashtags I use are:
- #horseart
- #horseartist
- #horseartwork
- #horsesketch
- #horseart10
- #equineart
- #horsepainting
- #equestrianart
- #equineartist
Horse Art on Pinterest
Be warned that you can really get lost looking for horse art on Pinterest. It’s honestly addictive scrolling through all the images so just be careful with that as hours can easily go by! 🙂
Just type in “horse art” into the search bar and you’re good to go because one thing will lead to another and another.
There’s just some things you have to be very careful of on Pinterest:
- Many artworks are not originals (people are trying to make money off stock images).
- Know the difference between prints and originals, and make sure you’re paying appropriately.
- Again, keep track of time!
Looking for Horse Artists Near You
The last thing I want to talk about is finding horse artists in person. The issue is that in order for artists to display art in places where you are likely to find it, they have high overhead costs. This means that their work is likely to be priced at a premium.
If that doesn’t deter you, you can always search “horse artists near me” on Google and probably find some amazing galleries that sell horse art.
You can also check out local fairs and events. For instance, Cavalia shows and the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair have amazing artworks that you can buy, although again, they are quite pricy.
But another strategy that I might also try if I was trying to keep my budget a little bit more sane would be to post an ad in search of a long-term relationship with a horse artist and post it on various places such as:
- The local post office
- Billboards nearby
- A college/university nearby
- Craigslist
- Kijiji (if you’re in Canada)
Wrapping It Up
I really hope this article was helpful. If you guys have any questions or specific issues, please don’t hesitate to comment below and I’ll try to answer as soon as possible!
Happy horse art hunting 🙂
Horses are one of the most known and used subjects in fine arts thanks to their amazing anatomical features. One of the best places to find horse art is, as you have already mentioned, is Etsy!
You can find a TREMENDOUS amount of custom artworks there and the sky is the only limit! Also, Deviant Art is a good platform for some talent hunt 🙂
Agreed – I love Etsy! And I’m very partial to original work 🙂
I am an artist myself and I appreciate any artwork that can transcribe the beauty of a horse into a medium.
I have found deviantart to be quite expensive in the past so you’re not alone there.
I think Fine Art America is the perfect balance any collector would be looking for! Though not original, it’s worth looking into for the affordability and you don’t have to commit too much, in my opinion.
Pinterest is easy to get lost looking for anything, good luck with that, haha!
Hey Gabriella,
I feel you on Pinterest but it’s just so addictive too! hahah
You’ve kind of inspired me with the idea to commission paintings of my own pets – I’m thinking it’s better than just doing horses as there’s a greater market? I love the idea that even after something is gone you can remind yourself of it daily by creating your own art gallery.
Hey Jaime,
Great Idea! We do that for horses on our Instagram page as well for people 🙂
It’s super fun to do foresure
You can also find good horse art on Redbubble with the same kind of print services that you get on Fine art america. I am an equine artist too so I can see it from both sides 😉
Hi Diane,
Awesome – thanks for sharing! I’ll be sure to check it out 🙂 Let me know if you ever want to post any of your work with some descriptions on our site
Hi Martina.
I would love to leave post some work and descriptions on your site, what do I need to do?
Hi Diane,
Feel free to send over whatever you’d like featured to [email protected] and let us know what you’d like in different posts and any preferences you might have. We just ask that you please limit any links to 1-2 per 500 words so that we keep up highly quality content 🙂
Cheers,
Martina
Thank you, I will get some sorted and send them over to you during the week.
Thanks
Diane
Sounds great! Looking forward to receiving them