By Jennifer Carrasco

Many of us have a motif that appears repeatedly in our lives. Mine were horses. As a kid, I was so horse crazy, I whinnied when I came to breakfast.  But Dad put his foot down when I requested a horse.No horse for Jennifer....

So, by the time I was 8, I was drawing horses constantly. And when I wasn't drawing them, I was reading about them. My best Xmas was when I was 10 and got 8 horse books and a pair of red Roy Rodgers cowboy boots. I also was given a set of pastels. My Dad made me a kid's easel and gave me Uncle Bert's drawing board. Then he took me over to the Pomeroy newspaper to buy me a ream of newsprint from Mr. Red Bunch, the owner of the East Washingtonian.

When we got home, Daddy showed me how to clip a pad of newsprint at the top of the board and then I went at it. Every day, after school, I would be at that easel, drawing horses with my pastels. I'd finish a pastel–usually a head of a horse, rip it off the board and run out to the kitchen to show Mom as she was fixing dinner. She'd say "Wonderful, Jennifer!" Then I'd dash to the family room and make another horse portrait. I would make at least  three horse portraits before dinner. 

My interest in horses faded during high school and college, but my focus on painting did not. I had 6 one woman shows in Manila. Always painting.  Many years later, when I moved from the Philippines with my family to Spokane Washington, I was offered the job of painting the Riverfront Carrousel horses. So I painted all 58 carved antique wooden carrousel animals, each time for 4 different years during Spokane's snowy winters. Horses galloped into my life again.

Later I moved to Seattle, and painted more antique carrousel horses. One was for a postal worker/juggler who came to my studio and juggled while I painted. He and his girlfriend were also Star Trek fans, and they invited me to the horse's "unveiling party." A flowered sheet was draped over the horse and the partygoers wore blinking Star Trek pins and were signing "Live Long and Prosper"to each other. The sheet was pulled off the horse and everybody clapped. We drank a lot of wine. It was a fine party.

The last horse I painted was a 16 hand tall papier-mâché horse that had been a prop in an Yves St. Laurent fashion show. My client wanted it painted gold and covered with flowers. The horse was situated in the entry to The Ruins, a large events venue. I painted the horse on site and staff would come by and say"Oh, I love tulips. Please paint a tulip or two on it somewhere" Tulips galore coming up.

This horse was popular, and often when the party people had too much hilarity and champagne, they would kiss its muzzle or ride it, which caused damage. 

That was OK by me because I had to return to repair it. 

Job security for years.

Jennifer Carrasco is a longtime West Seattle resident and internationally recognized muralist whose work combines historical depth, mythic storytelling, and botanical elegance. With decades of experience painting large-scale trompe l’oeil and chinoiserie murals for clients ranging from Tommy Bahama to private collectors, she brings a distinctive Northwest voice to decorative arts. Her artistic journey has taken her from Peace Corps service and teaching in the Philippines to NEA residencies across the globe, and long ago she chose to make West Seattle her home.