Cholla Portrait

NAN 2007 Auction Donation by Marilyn Jensen

A portrait of the Mustang / Quarter Horse Artist

"CHOLLA"

Cholla started out as a "Caldero" Mustang, sculpted by Sarah Rose (www.rosehorse.com) and cast in a very limited edition. I have customized the resincast to reflect Cholla's part-Quarter Horse heritage.

Caldero's new ears were created to prick forward. His head profile was resculpted and his mane and tail were thinned. Caldero has also been gelded (although he retains some of his stallion characteristics due to being "proud cut"!)

Cholla was painted to a buckskin dun using pastels over airbrushed acrylics, with handpainted acrylic details. Cholla has a dun-stripe down his back and faint zebra barring on his legs. Cholla's only white marking is on his left rear leg, just above the hoof.

Cholla has some blond streaks in his mane, very shiny dark eyes,
and an open mouth with pink tongue and yellowish-white teeth.

Cholla has a "thumbprint" marking on his rear leg.

Cholla is 9.5 inches high from the bottom of his feet to the tip of his ears. Length is approximately 10 inches; width is a little over 3 inches at the widest point. Cholla is considered the "Traditional" size for a model horse (about the same size as a standard Breyer model horse).

Cholla's accessories include a special paintbrush that he can hold in his mouth (there is a tiny hole in the back of his mouth that the paintbrush fits into, eliminating the need for messy tacky-wax), a handmade wooden easel, and a miniature copy of an original "Cholla" painting provided by Renee Chambers, owner of the real Cholla. He also comes with a miniature telephone and "aluminum" patio table (made of balsa wood) . . . .

. . . . . along with a memory album containing photos of Cholla and his paintings, and 2 DVDs of Cholla in action.

Model Cholla was sold on Friday, June 22, 2007 in Mesquite, Texas at the annual fund-raising auction of the North American Model Horse Showers Association (NAMHSA), held in conjunction with the North American Nationals (NAN). Cholla's final selling price was $1100. 10% of his selling price will be donated in honor of the real Cholla to the The Wild Horse and Burro Expo of Reno, NV, a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization promoting wildlife education and successful adoption of wild horses and burros.

(photos of real Cholla were provided by Renee Chambers)