Terri Glaser and her own horse, Luke.

Most mornings erupt in bright blue skies with a hint of gray in the distance, where the mountains poke through, and the evening sunset reveals a dash of purple that caresses the tree line along the burnt orange background.

For Terri Glaser the drive to spend time with her horse, a 17-hand chestnut thoroughbred gelding named, Cool Hand Luke, in the foothills of Northern California, is a chance to let her mind run free.

Some days the winding roads can provide a tranquil path, dotted by alpacas and goats grazing in the fields.

Other times the day unfolds in a flurry of chaos. A wild mother turkey nudging her babies across the road. Renegade cattle dodging wranglers trying to coax them back home.

Those are the scenes Glaser absorbs.

“It all goes into my work,” said the completely self-taught artist. “I get inspiration from all that I see and everything that surrounds me is beautiful.”

Growing up in Michigan Terri picked up pencils, crayons and chalk even before she took her first step. She was barely able to hold her tools but that didn’t matter. She was constantly drawing.

“If I could see or imagine it, I would put it on paper,” she said.

As her passion for creating grew and her method ripened, Terri nurtured her gift. After graduating from Frankenmuth High School she attended Northwood University, in Midland Michigan where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Marketing and an Associate of Arts degree in Advertising.

She worked for the North Face company, creating clothing for its advertising campaigns.

And she painted for herself.

Back then Glaser’s primary medium was pencils, black and white and photorealism.

“By working with the different shades of black, gray and white I wanted the viewer to imagine their own colors,” she explained. “I learned how to paint with watercolor and acrylic and that was fun for a time but I wanted to do something really different.”

It started to occur to Glaser that it was the color to which she responded.

“I started to create my own style,” she said. “I never really looked to any artists for inspiration, I looked within. I learned from experimenting with different mediums over many years.”

Then one day everything changed.

The process of creating on the computer.

“I saw a computer program that could create what I had been doing with the pencils, acrylics and watercolor and taught myself how to use it,” she said. “I was designing my own brushes, canvas, colors etc., and the end result was incredible.”

Glaser’s collection of brushes has now been replaced by a stylus pen and these days her imagination takes form on a tablet rather than a canvas. But the process is the same.

“I can combine all kinds of different mediums into a painting and boost colors like I never could before,” she said.

And so she creates – she creates for herself. And she creates for others – friends who bring her old torn pictures of a dog who has passed. Or strangers who have a vision of how to preserve a memory.

When I’m commissioned to do a piece and I first see the photo a client wants turned into a painting I immediately see the colors I want to use and the end result,” Glaser said. “It really is all in my head and imagination and the creative process begins.”

The first step is to create a colorful background.

“This always changes in the end, to a degree anyway.  I just want to have certain colors there visually before I start the sketching,” she explained. “Once a rough sketch is drawn out I start a messy painting using lots of color.  As I continue with the painting it gets more and more refined.

Even though Glaser uses a stylus pen instead of a brush now and a tablet serves as her work area, her creations are still painted as her traditional art, stroke by stroke.

“People seem to think that the computer does all the work for you but that could not be farther from the truth,” she said. “I do have much more flexibility since I can just delete something I do not like, but each piece is done by hand – the computer is just a tool.”

The subjects of Glaser’s paintings are varied but more often than not, they are of horses.

“The power and majestic beauty of these incredible animals has always been intriguing,” she said.

Horses have always been in Glaser’s life, in one way or another.  They were either in the field behind her house growing up or she would see them while visiting her grandmother and cousins, who all owned a few.
“I rode for fun but never owned one until later in life,” she said. “Deciding to finally take riding lessons and really knowing nothing about the different disciplines I ended up at a hunter/jumper barn.  I purchased my first horse and competed in shows and totally fell in love with it all.  I really learned how these magnificent creatures interact with each other and with us as their human companions.  They really do want to give you everything they have and I respect that so much.”

Looking into the eyes of a horse, Glaser said she can see their soul and it is one of the first things she paint.

“If I can’t match what I see on the canvas I will start over till it is right,” she said.

Six years ago Terri Glaser Fine Art was formally established and now clients from all over the globe keep the artist busy full time.
“One of my favorite parts of the job is getting to know the client and how important their painting will be to them,” she explained. “It usually starts with their favorite photo of a particular horse, animal or person. It’s heartwarming to know how incredibly special this piece of art will be. Painting it then makes it such a labor of love.”

Glaser recalls one very special client who had a very different vision.

“A young woman contacted me and really wanted her grandfather and her horse – both deceased – in a painting of her wearing her wedding dress,” she explained.

The whole process was very emotional since it was clear what a special part the grandfather played in this young woman’s life.

“Her grandfather is the one who found this woman’s horse for her but he passed away before her wedding took place.”

Glaser put them all together in an outdoor setting.

“I have to say it turned out pretty well,” she said.

Most all of Glaser’s clients are animal lovers and a few have been in the equestrian limelight. Some have been on the United States Equestrian Team while others have come from high profile show barns. Highly decorated barrel racers seek her out and she has even done work for an Olympic coach.

“He even found the horse I own now,” Terri said.

Most find her through referrals but lately many contact her after she posts her new work on Facebook. A Glaser creation can range in price anywhere from $300 to $700 and up, depending on the size and involvement.

“Since art is so visual I post them and then many people will share and so on,” she said. “I do have a following which is always great.”

Michael D. Cintas, of Rancho Mirage, California, is the owner/president of Equestrian Centers International. He has a very special 24-by-36 Glaser painting hanging on his office wall.

“Terri made me a super painting of  ‘ECI-Dupar.’ the French jumper that I bought and we imported after I lost my left leg,” he explained. “He took me right back to the ‘A’ circuit and the jumper ring and he is now retired.  The painting depicts exactly my horse and myself over a 4-foot 6-inch square oxer.  I will always cherish this fine art work.”

Cintas said Glaser has an incredible following world-wide and has painted Olympic and International riders from all over the world.

“Her incredible talent as an artist excites all of us,” Cintas said.

Glaser admits she is a procrastinator but she’s also a perfectionist.

“If I can’t get an art piece just right I have to walk away,” she admitted. “Time away seems to get the juices flowing again but realistically I should just power through and get them finished.  It may take a little longer by walking away but it always looks beautiful in the end.”
You might think that making the transition from the traditional canvas and brush to a digital format would be difficult for a traditional artist but Glaser says it’s not as hard as you might think.

“It is very similar in the way that you paint – nothing is changed there.  Getting used to a stylus and tablet took an adjustment but other than that it’s pretty similar,” she said. “One thing that I don’t have to deal with now is the smell of paint and the cleanup.

In fact, Glaser can see where technology has advanced the world of art in many other ways.

“It can provide people with different methods of exploring creativity,” she said. “There are online museums – granted it is definitely not like seeing the real thing but a lot of individuals can’t get to see that.  Seeing it online is the next best thing.  Animators, game designers etc… all create art on a computer.  It is really amazing how technology is continually changing.  I never thought 10 years ago I would be creating fine art on a computer.”

As passionate as she is about her art, Glaser is equally interested in music and says, for her, the two are actually connected.

“I learned guitar at the age of 12 and piano later in life and I still continue playing today,” she said. “Music is important to me when I create a painting.”

Glaser is proud of the fact that she has built her business from the ground up and operates it herself. While it’s true that she sometimes feels like there should be three of her to get things done, she manages to do it all herself.

You can find Terri Glaser on the web at www.terriglaserart.com or on her Facebook pages. You can also call her at (530) 802-3859.