Framing My First Piece for the Year of the Horse

Framing My First Piece for the Year of the Horse

As I framed my first exhibition piece for next year, I couldn’t help but feel that it arrived at the perfect moment. 2026 will be the Year of the Horse, and perhaps that’s why this painting--Brilliant Blue Horse in Moonlight—pulls at my attention more deeply than any other recent work. Even after finishing it, I keep finding myself returning to it, staring at it a little longer each time. There is something alive in it, something that feels as if it might step quietly out of the frame and stand before me. It reminds me of a unicorn—soft, luminous, and full of quiet power.

I have already painted three horses, and nine more remain. Once all twelve are complete, I plan to create a calendar featuring each one. It feels like a meaningful project, something that will mark not only the coming year but also the transformation I’m personally moving through. Each horse feels like a chapter, and together they will form a story that I want to share.

Lately, my body has been tired. My inflammation hasn’t fully healed, and my energy dips more easily than it used to. There are days when even holding a brush feels heavier than it should. But whenever I look at this blue horse, something inside me steadies. It reminds me why I paint, and why this series matters to me. There is a quiet encouragement in this piece—an invitation to keep going, even slowly.

Framing this painting felt like opening the first door of the coming year.

A beginning.

A step forward.

A moment to trust that the work ahead will carry me where I need to go.

I hope to gather enough strength to paint the remaining nine horses, one by one—guided by this luminous blue figure who arrived first, almost as if to lead the way.