presents:

"Ashley and Amanda" (detail)

Ashley and Amanda are sisters who each wanted the other in their portrait. ( see "Amanda and Ashley") They picked the place they wanted for their background, what they would wear etc, and surprised their parents and everyone with their choices. They are two very different personalities which is apparent in both paintings. Amanda in the background is just the child who drops the reins and nothing happens, she stays on miraculously at times and is patiently waiting while her sister schools over a few fences. Ashley is more formal and more a student of equitation. Both girls continue to ride and love horses.(Note: this painting was in a devastating house fire in which her mother escaped unscathed, the girls were away at school, and it was one of 4 things they were able to rescue. It cleaned up beautifully although the canvas appears to have aged 100 years.)