Gainesville artist sculpts life size bronze horse

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Black works on the early stages of “The Sire” in her Gainesville studio. Staff photo by Jim Perry
Gainesville artist Marrita Black has worked for the past year on a life size bronze horse named “The Sire” which now overlooks a ranch near Whitesboro. Black has sculpted pieces which are displayed all over the world, including larger than life paint horses outside the National Quarter Horse Association headquarters in Fort Worth. Courtesy photo

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October 27, 2012

Gainesville artist sculpts life size bronze horse

Special to the Register Gainesville Daily Register The Daily Register Sat Oct 27, 2012, 10:35 AM CDT

Gainesville — It took approximately one year for local artist Marrita Black to create a lifesize bronze piece titled “The Sire.” True to life, the piece stands 64 inches and weighs close to 1,200 pounds.

“The Sire” is currently situated on a brick wall, overlooking land, as if in the days of vast open prairies where the horse would have been high atop a hill and looking protectively over a herd.

Black’s piece was intended to capture the appearance of a stallion as he is moving and keeping a vigilant watch over his mares. The attention to detail is exquisite, from the outline of the sire’s muscles to his hooves’s cadence.

A lot of work, thought and design from Black went into the piece. Her years of growing up with horses, showing them and working with them, helped her hone a critical eye and sharpen her attention to detail. While the piece was sculpted by Black in Gainesville, the bronze casting was performed by The Crucible, a foundry in Oklahoma City, Okla.

And when it was completed, “The Sire” was carefully transported to his permanent home on a private ranch near Whitesboro.

It is just one of many commissioned pieces created by Black for both individuals and businesses.

While she has produced pieces that are located all over the world, Black has several pieces in the United States, including the North Texas area.

Anyone in the Fort Worth area can see several examples of her work in the form of running horses — including mares and foals — that are slightly larger than life-sized.

They are located outside the American Paint Horse Association (AQHA) offices. Another example of a commissioned piece she has sculpted is a 2006 American Quarter Horse Association Hall of Fame inductee “Rugged Lark” and the horse’s owner, Carol Harris. To see more of Black’s bronze work as well as her resin pieces, visit her website at www.horsesculpture.net.