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KAREN KEENE DAY: MOMENTS WITH WILD HORSES ~ June 1-30, 2021

My artwork is about and for the wild mustangs, in particular the Spring Creek Basin Mustangs and Disappointment Valley Sanctuary mustangs. I’ve been painting them since 1999 with my goal of bringing more awareness to the public for our nation’s wild mustangs, their great beauty, spirit and energy and their devotion to each other and their strong family units. My goal in painting them is to help protect them.

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From childhood with a bucket of crayons and fistful of drawing paper, artist Karen Keene Day evolved through the years painting varied subjects,always including horses, using watercolor, mixed media, zinc etchings, and for the last fourteen years acrylics on canvas as her mediums.

Since 1999 her passion for wild horses has taken precedence over all other subject matter.  Her dedication to painting the horses to help raise the public’s awareness of wild horses  has been her goal. From each sale she donates 3% of her commission to help the Spring Creek Wild horses in Disappointment Valley in Colorado.

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Her inspiration comes from twelve years of traveling to different wild horse management areas (HMA) in the USA, to look for the wild horses, to observe and photograph them. Her primary focus has been in with the Spring Creek Herd in the desert region of Disappointment Valley in Colorado, located between Durango and Norwood, CO.

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The Pryor Mountain Wild Horses on the border of Montana and Wyoming in 1999 propelled Day into her journey as a “voice” for them.  Sandwash Basin in Meeker, Little Bookcliffs, Ryan’s Gulch all in Colorado, and Marsh Tackies wild in Cumberland,GA. and St. Helena’s Island, S.C. are other HMA from which she has also drawn her painting sources and research.

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Noble, majestic, powerful, beautiful … it is these qualities of horses that Karen Keene Day sees, and through her paintings, reveals their spirituality in a Celebration of Life through color & movement. In their strong family units in the wild or alone, running free or standing still, Karen paints them with rich colors, free of tack and rider. Karen Keene Day’s paintings of horses in pastels, acrylics, and water-colors, have traveled across the United States and to Spain, to shows, businesses and clients’ homes. Her paintings have been featured in horse magazines Equine Image, Andalusian and Conquistador, including several covers on Andalusian magazine. Karen has been extensively covered by Equine Image, who also represented her at Equitana, an International Horse Show, in Louisville, Kentucky and Wildlife Art Magazine. The artist has given workshops, slide shows and presentations to business groups, artists’ associations and school children. Karen travels to photograph horses for her paintings, and to find inspiration. This has included trips to study the wild horses of the Pryor Mountains on the border of Wyoming and Montana, the Little Bookcliff Horses of DeBeque, Colorado and wild Marsh horses of the Carolina and Georgia Shores.  Disappointment Valley in Colorado, where the Spring Creek Wild Horses are, is now her main focus.  Karen generously gives 3% of her commission sales to the Cortez, Colorado branch of the National Mustang Association.

Admire Some Art at the Wright Opera House

March 29, 2019

Art fans, listen up! For those of you looking to soak in some artistry just before the weekend, we encourage you to set aside some time to visit the Wright Opera House on Friday. That’s one of the days when the Colorado Ranch, Cattle and Wild Mustangs by Karen Keene & Floyd Day Art Exhibit will be on full display.

Karen Keene Day and Floyd Day are a pair of local artists that have each gained acclaim for their distinct creativity. Floyd Day works in pastels, often creating works depicting the flora and fauna found throughout the Uncompahgre Valley. His work has been showcased in various shows and galleries in Beaufort, South Carolina as well as Ridgway, Colorado. Floyd also holds an Engineering degree from the University of Michigan.

“Beautiful”, “noble”, “powerful”, these are a couple of the adjectives used by Karen Keene Day to describe the fascinating mustangs she has come across and depicts in her paintings. For the past two decades, she has traveled extensively researching these incredible animals.

Support local artists and take a moment to admire the work of these talented individuals.

painted ponies: Karen Keene Day

Lesley Frenz
September 17, 2012

I’ve never been one of those horse-crazy girls. You know the ones. Oh, I read my share of Black Beauty and The Black Stallion when I was young, but I just never caught the equestrian obsession. But we have been knee-deep in horse country here in Idaho and after seeing these creatures everyday, I can now understand the fascination. In her paintings, artist Karen Keene Day perfectly captures the untamed beauty and spirit of American wild horses.

​Powerful yet gentle and graceful, the horse often serves dutifully yet you can see in their eyes the longing to run free.

Through her use of simple painted line drawing juxtaposed with slashes of vibrant color, Day translates into her work the innate wildness of the animals and unique personality each one displays.

To see more of Karen Keene Day’s work, please visit her website.  The artist supports the work being done to keep wild horses safe by donating 3% of her commission on each sale to the National Mustang Association branch in Cortez, CO.

PS– If you’ve never seen the documentary Wild Horses & Renegades, I highly recommend it!

Painter, art and artist consultant, traveler, discoverer-- Lesley Frenz blogs and paints her way throughout the West Coast and Northwest, sharing the work she finds significant and meaningful. All while highly caffeinated.Painter, art and artist consultant, traveler, discoverer-- Lesley Frenz blogs and paints her way throughout the West Coast and Northwest, sharing the work she finds significant and meaningful. All while highly caffeinated.