Illusion
In a split second the flash lit up the sky, and I saw
or thought I saw… no… it must be an illusion…
But then the thunder answered in the rolling sounds
Of a thousand hoof beats.
~ Kim McElroy
THE STORY BEHIND THE ART
I was visiting Tucson, Arizona, and once when the lightning was so close, I could smell the ozone. I bought a postcard to remind me of the experience. When I created this painting, I studied how the lightning traveled, and I recalled high school physics class which taught me that lightning always seeks the ground. I wanted to draw a horse in the lightning, so without a preconceived idea of what the horse would look like, I drew each bolt swiftly and boldly as if it was lightning crackling across the paper. What resulted was the haunting shape of a horse with its head held high as if fighting the earthly tethers that momentarily held it captive. Some people see other images in the lightning, such as a Native dancer, a wizard, a Sasquatch, and even a whale.