Deborah O'Sullivan

Epona Studio

Epona-(Pan-Celtic) [ey-PONE-ah, AY-paw-nah or Ay-PAWN-nuh]
"Divine Horse"; "The Great Mare"; Goddess of horses; Mother Goddess.
Fertility, maternity, protectress of horses and dogs,
prosperity, dogs, healing, springs, crops.

Deborah O’Sullivan utilizes her 35 years of experience in the horse industry in creating equine art that appeals not only to the collector but to the horseperson. Her years of dedicated work as a trainer/rider and, always, student of the horse has given her an extensive working knowledge of rider and equine biomechanics, movement, behavior and anatomy.

At the beginning of her riding career Deborah came up through the horse show ranks catch riding horses on the A circuit in hunters/jumpers as well as training and riding her own horses. Riding jumpers was her first love but she managed to qualified for both the Medal and Maclay equitation finals as a junior. Due to a lack of financial backing she  braided horses at the shows, catch rode and used her jumper winnings to help finance her way through the circuit. Her lack of funds opened the door to her finding her riding partners by rescuing Thoroughbreds from the racetrack and auctions. She has since retrained and found homes for so many TB’s that were destined for slaughter.

           


In the late eighties Deborah made the switch to Dressage and it has become a true passion. In her pursuit for correct training and teaching Deborah became specialized in utilizing horse and rider biomechanics and anatomy in both her own riding and teaching. Combining these with the classical principals of Dressage produces thinking riders and correctly developed, happy horses. This working knowledge of the horse and rider naturally carries over into her artwork. Capturing the working Dressage horse in her paintings became the next logical step. Prints from her developing series titled The Dressage Scale are in great demand among Dressage enthusiasts.




Deborah has had a lifelong passion for horse and strives to engage the viewer with use of bold and vibrant color, brush strokes and an eye to correctness of equine biomechanics, anatomy and detail. This passion for the horse is evident in her ability to capture the essence of the horse in her portrayal of this timeless subject.

The use of color and brush strokes not only convey visual excitement and motion but capture the emotion and feeling of being with the horse in that moment. She strives to capture the moment and make it bigger than life. Deborah also, believes that conveying the right expression in the eye is essential to portraying the soul of the horse.


2008 has been a busy year for Deborah with some exciting projects. She was invited to participate in Le Cadeau du Cheval (The Horse Gift) Mural. This is a collaborative effort involving artists from around the world. The unveiling was September 3, 2008 at the “The Masters” at Spruce Meadows in Alberta, Canada. Deborah painted panel 156.  In addition, she was invited to exhibit her work at the HITS (Horse Show in the Sun) Equine Art Gala and Exhibitor Mixer in Saugerties, NY. 

When not working in the studio she enjoys mountain biking.....otherwise known as "The Darkside" to roadies, and hiking and herding  with her Border Collie, Tess.


Deborah is a self- taught artist and her work can be found in collections worldwide. Her work has been donated to benefit such causes as Excellor Farm, Glen Highland Farm Sweet Border Collie Rescue and Special Needs Dobermans through the Doberman Pinscher Club of America. She works in both watercolors and acrylics.


Her work is available as prints and originals. Commission requests will be considered on a limited basis.  She is a member of the Equine Art Guild, Canine Art Guild, League of Animal Artists, P.A.C.E- Pawling Arts, Commerce & Education and United States Dressage Federation.