The Stirrup Cup

20 x 30
Oil on canvas

$1750

Foxhunting is not always about motion. Some of my best paintings are about the stillness — the sky, that molten-gold color of the fall, and the timelessness of the tradition itself. This painting takes its name from one of those relatively still moments in a hunt — the pause in action to share a (usually much needed) stirrup cup, which allows hounds to take a rest and riders to warm themselves for the rest of the hunt. Secret potions are drunk from flasks (there are two such imbibers here), while others accept glasses of port from the lookers on (note the volunteer server in the red jacket).