AVAILABLE AS A GICLÉE PRINT ON PAPER OR CANVAS, SEE OPEN EDITIONS

This Original Painting Is Gallery Wrapped.

My life is blessed to have as a friend Michael Muir, a remarkable man whose love of
horses matches my own. Tall and rangy, the perfect picture of a cowboy in the old West, Michael’s gentle nature and overly generous heart is reflected in all that he does.

Michael’s artistic spirit is captured in a long line of horses he has bred as the
Stonewall Sporthorse, a colorful breed that combines the strong and powerful Percheron draft breed from France with the colorful, headstrong Appaloosa, an American original. The result are large, spotted horses that march in parades as children cry out
“here come the Dalmatian horses.”

In one of life’s mysterious ironies, Michael has been afflicted with MS for many years, and can no longer ride. A champion driver, he has competed worldwide, representing America as a member of the United States Driving for Disabled team, demonstrating each time he moves into the driver’s seat how all things are possible, if you only believe in yourself. His horses are sought after by drivers throughout the United States.

As the new century dawned, Michael and several other disabled horse lovers determined to drive their horses from his home in Woodland, California to the White House, retracing and honoring the pioneering journeys of his namesake, the environmentalist John Muir. His journey would take him through several states, and as he made the journey he stopped at hospitals and rehabilitation centers to offer hope to the newly disabled, who were inspired at his merry band of horsemen, including another driver in a wheelchair, a legally blind groom, and Michael, of course. (Read more at HorseJourney.com)

Stonewall Stella and Stonewall Blanche were the principal team that pulled these dreams across thousands of miles of desert, range and town. I visited often to the Woodland farm, riding with Michael as he trained, and ultimately becoming an unofficial member of the family, obtaining Stonewall Baby Jane and Stonewall Cuvée as my very own.

This painting captures a ride around Michael’s farm, as we are returning home. He was training to compete at Gladstone, home to the United States Equestrian team and annually the setting for a series of competitions well known throughout the equine world. These were precious moments, and I felt then, and do now, that there was nothing that would stand in Michael’s determined way. On these broad backs rode a dream. The journey made it to Washington DC. This year, Michael is again on the road, traveling from Kentucky to the Gulf Coast driving Stonewall Domino, carrying the message again that all is possible if you can just hold onto your dreams.

AVAILABLE AS A GICLÉE PRINT ON PAPER OR CANVAS, SEE OPEN EDITIONS

Giclée On Canvas, $1200 or Presentation Paper, $450 plus shipping & handling
For prints at varying sizes, contact the artist at CharBanach@comcast.net for pricing & availability

Available as a 4x6" card at$3 each, see Cards page.