The Upside Down World of C. W. Mundy

I took a C.W. Mundy workshop last week right here in Nashville, Tennessee. It was a plein air workshop, Locales were both nearby and beautiful. In addition, the weather was unbelievably gorgeous. As you might suspect however, the subject of the above painting is not plein air. Horses rarely pose to be painted from life!
One workshop day, we went to the gardens of Cheekwood and painted from photos… upside down photos.

It's an exercise sometimes given to demonstrate how important it is to paint shape and form rather than a “thing.” I'd never done this particular exercise. Perversely, I selected a photo I thought would be really hard; I did it because I like horses and wanted a break from landscapes. I drew it and painted it upside down.
I had very low expectations so I was happily surprised to find my upside-down shapes resolved themselves into… horses! There are lots of things missing, reins and wheel axles and such, as well as some angles and values that need adjustment. But they indeed look like horses… who would have thought it!
Well, I guess C.W. would have.