Zen Horse Koi By Linda Luster

Linda Luster was a frequent contributor to the Chronicle in the early 1980s while living in North Carolina. After taking 16 years off from art to train dressage horses professionally in Maryland, Luster returned to her artwork full time. She works out of her studio on her farm in Rocky Ridge, Md., where she still keeps her hands in training a few horses.

This week’s cover, Zen Horse Koi, was greatly influenced by the five years Luster lived in Sendai, Japan, as a child. This 30″ x 40″ oil on canvas is the third in a series of Japanese-inspired paintings. It was juried into this year’s International Equine Art Competition—Ex Arte Equinus II 2009, once again sponsored by Art Horse magazine.