Bubba the Wonder Horse from Steve's Sketchbook

A Horse Is a Horse

Bubba the Wonder Horse is the latest entry in Steve’s Sketchbook. And he is happy to see you, too!

A horse is a horse, of course, of course. Except when he is Bubba the Wonder Horse. Sorry, Mr. Ed. I know you can talk and do some other stuff. But around here, Bubba has you beat.

Bubba has had to put up with a lot in his 24 years with us. First off, there is his name. His official registered name is Beam’s Bad Influence. But because that is a mouthful to say, we landed on Bubba as his nickname. Some people think it is funny, but Bubba never has complained about it one single time. Maybe there are some advantages to not having a talking horse like Mr. Ed.

On top of that, Bubba’s life has not quite always been sunshine and roses, either. He almost lost an eye to a severe fungus. He has some nerve damage in his back legs. And he has had a few teeth pulled over the last several years, too.

But considering that he is 29 years old and about to turn 30, he is doing quite well. At 3 horse years to one people year, and figuring in that it is near the end of the year, that makes him the equivalent of 89, almost 90. Even at that age, he still runs up to the barn when it is feeding time. And he puts up with the fights and races of Daisy, our other horse.

Somewhere along the way, Bubba picked up the additional nickname of the Wonder Horse. He has definitely earned that one.

Life’s Surprises

When I was growing up, I never would have thought that I would live in the same place as horses. But here we are. And now, I can’t imagine it any other way. That is just one of the many happy little surprises that life has thrown my way.

So this is just a reminder that you never really know what the future holds. That is especially true if you meet and marry someone who has their own plans and ideas for the future. Laura and I both would have had very different lives if we had not gotten married and started our life together. Yes, some things have been challenges that we have had to work through, but it has all been good.

It is good to plan, but it is also good to be receptive to what God sends your way. Because it just might be better than what you have planned.

Bible Verse

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” - James 4:13-15

About the Artwork

Have you ever had one of those times when you were stumped and did not know what to draw? That was me this week. And then while we were out at the horse barn one time, I thought, “I should try to draw a horse!” Sometimes, you draw whatever it is that you see.

I chose to just draw Bubba’s head here instead of doing a whole-horse-body drawing. I wanted to focus on his face and expression. I actually wasn’t sure about it all, but when I showed it to Laura, she loved it. That was good enough for me.

The barn wall background was actually really simple. I used the “wood” texture brush in Procreate, and it did all of the work for me. It almost felt like cheating, actually. I started with a gray background and then used red for the wood brush, and it ended up looking very much like our faded red barn. Pretty cool! Especially considering that I did not have to draw all of that wood grain.

Here is a work-in-progress look at the creation of this artwork: