Bella Playing by Christina Lego

Christina Lego, Auburn, N.Y., discovered the joys of painting horses in 2007. She began riding in the spring of 2004 and incorporated horses into her artwork three years later. She now has four horses—two retired lesson horses, a Thoroughbred and a Morgan-Arabian who’s teaching her to jump.

Lego earned her bachelor’s degree in fine arts at the Maryland Institute College of Art and her master’s degree in fine arts at West Virginia Univeristy. She paints in oil and watercolor, and her work is featured in many public and private collections.

This week’s cover, Bella Playing, is a 30″ x 40″ oil on canvas of a horse’s first day off the track. The painting reflects a Thoroughbred’s new life after a career as a race horse, romping and playing and happily releasing pent up energy.