“PAINTING EQUINE MESSAGES”

By Debra Saum, Animal Communication Artist

We all have a sixth sense…animals, humans, we’re all born with it. There’s no difference between an animal’s sixth sense and a human’s intuition. Animals are just more trusting of theirs. When we allow animals to show us their intuitive nature, we allow ourselves to return to our own divine nature.

My “Talking Art” is a way for me to portray the many positive and inspirational messages that animals have for all of us. Happiness, balance, peace, unity…these are the lessons that they want to give us.

Equine intuition is particularly potent. Horses are dialed into their sixth sense because as herd animals, their very survival depends upon it. Known for their uncanny ability to ignite psychic awareness in humans, horses have a powerful way of reminding us to follow our hearts and trust our intuition.

Horses have graced us with their strength, loyalty and wisdom for eons. Some say that the horse domesticated the human, not the other way around. Could it be that horses brought us into their inner circle of intuitive grace and power in order to teach us how to be better stewards of the planet?

As an animal intuitive, it is my commitment to speak for the animals I paint by capturing their magnificent spirits on canvas. I believe that all animals are our teachers. Horses in particular, are here to help us remember our inner qualities of grace, kindness and peace. Using my communication skills, I have many conversations with the animals while creating their portraits. Whether meeting them in person, or using a photograph of them as reference, I begin by asking each animal what I can do to help paint their message. With deep reverence and respect, I ask them to talk to me about their essence, their heart, their feelings and what it is they want to say with their portrait. Then, as a self-taught artist, I use my instincts to help guide me through the entire process.

Having painted for nearly 20 years, I have found that by using close-up compositions, emphasis on large, soulful eyes and a slow process of building layers of color onto the canvas, I can create a vibrant rendition of each animal’s spirit. It is my experience that the canvas captures the essence of the many hours of communication I have had with each animal. Existing within each acrylic painting stretched on canvas is the memory of those communications.

As quantum physics states, we are all just energy organizing itself into various forms. There is no real difference, for example, between the basic energy of thought and the energy of a paintbrush. When creating paintings of horses, I have found that this energy transfer can be especially profound. I have come to know the energy of horses as saint-like, so very comforting , familiar and soulful. They are one of our most powerful teachers.

Perhaps it is because of the incredible sacrifices that horses have given to the human race that we are curious to get to know them. Or perhaps it is because they have so humbly allowed us to use them for our own advancement that they continue to invoke in us a sense of awe and wonder. We continue to be drawn to them as they continue to allow us into their mystical, natural world. They give us their unconditional love, their loyalty and their ever-present wildness. We are forever drawn to their essence and on some level, we yearn for their inherent connection to all things divine.

It is my hope as an artist to convey the profound messages of The Horse. I believe they are here to help us listen with our hearts; to be reminded of the power of love; to live our lives with the same grace, simplicity and beauty that has helped The Equine Spirit survive for centuries.


Debra Saum is an Animal Intuitive and nationally recognized, self-taught artist who lives in Southern California. Known for her revolutionary style of expressing Animal Communication through Art, her vibrant animal portraits invoke strong emotions. “Oh, you completely captured his spirit” is a common statement. Committed to raising awareness about the power of animals and their ability to ignite unconditional love, Debra regularly donates her art to Animal Organizations and projects that help promote compassion and kindness to all species.


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