He Who Walks Beside Me. Hadji My Guardian

Hadji a Prince among horses.. He has been my friend through many dangers.

Some animals enter our lives who are more than companions.

Hadji is one of that souls for me.

In the world of Oz, he is not only a beloved friend but a presence that feels protective, steady, and sacred. He is the home world.

As Cigány The Theater of The Horse paintings began to emerge the parallel world of light, travelers and a cast of performers Hadji is there at the threshold.

He is the guardian who brings the dream world in.

There is something deeply comforting about that idea: that the doorway into the imagination is not frightening, but guided. That beauty and wisdom arrive with a friend.

I once painted a portrait of Hadji that hung in his stall. Life happened, as it does, and the painting was damaged. Yet even that is strangely fitting . Art and life overlapping, as marked by reality, Asking to be restored

Hadji remains at the center.

A guardian of Oz. A companion of the studio. A quiet strength within the story.

More soon, from within this world. and the repaired painting!

— Shannon

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