Since I was a small child I have always had two passions, horses and art. My mother first sat me on her horse when I was three days old. By the time I was six months old I had already been on several trail rides. Unfortunately we weren’t always able to have horses and that was when my artistic and entrepreneurial talents blossomed. In elementary school I was selling my artwork at lunch for quarters. Summers were spent at my grandparents house with my Aunt’s pony, Honey. She was the best friend a young girl could have. She was an excellent model for my drawings and also a great listener. Many hot August days were spent lazing under a big shady tree reading Honey tales like King of the Wind and The Black Stallion.

In my working life I have always been employed in either the art or equine field. From Amish buggy driver for tourists to decorative painter and picture framer to thoroughbred horse farm manager, I’ve done it all. It wasn’t until 1999 that I was finally able to combine both of my loves. I had been buying a few things on online auctions when I realized that there were some really great artists selling their work on eBay. I began selling hand painted horse welcome and farm signs as well as other functional art on eBay under the user name horsesigns. After a few months I began to develop quite a following of collectors. My most popular work centers around the holidays. For Christmas and Halloween, my best sellers, I paint whimsical horses trick or treating or decorating pine trees.

The last year and a half has been the most gratifying as I have become a mother as well as a successful self-employed artist. In July of 2007 my husband and I bought our first home and I finally have my very own studio. To mark this event, I have changed my business name from Horsesigns to Gypsy Mare Studios. I consider myself very lucky and blessed to be able to make people happy with my work. In the years ahead I hope to get back to painting more fine art as well as continue my whimsical horse signs. I hope my wonderful customers will follow me on the wild ride of life!

My Great Grandfather, Henry T. MacNeill, sketching a historic house. HT was an artist/architech/historian from Chester County, PA. Descendant of Stephen Moylan who was Gen. Washington's aide de camp in the Revolutionary War.

Washington's Headquarters at Valley Forge.

Picture of me at around 7 years old.