Conger's depictions of horses' personalities important in her art
Mar. 24—For Georgianna "Girl" Conger, painting horses isn't just about accurately portraying the color of their coats, their distinctive markings, the shape of their bodies and how they move.
The Aiken resident also strives to depict the animals' personalities in her artwork.
"Their eyes are very important," said Conger, when asked what she focuses on the most. "They also hold their heads in a certain way.
"I remember doing an old polo pony that had been turned into a foxhunter," she continued. "He would give me the side-eye, and I was able to capture that side-eye. People were like, 'Oh my gosh, you got the side-eye.' "
In addition, "I once did a painting of a bay horse that had just finished racing," Conger said. "He had such an intense look, and the chain (on his shank) was so taut."
Born in Oregon, Conger was a baby when her family moved to Aiken.
"I've been around horses all my life," she said. "I've ridden, showed, evented and foxhunted. I've never ridden in a steeplechase, but I'm very connected to that sport."
The artist's father, Ford Conger, who died in 1993, was the longtime chairman of the Aiken Steeplechase Association.
Caught up in her dad's enthusiastic support of jump racing, Georgiana Conger became a fan at an early age.
After she graduated from Sweet Briar College in Virginia with a bachelor's degree in studio art, Conger started helping the committee that organized the Steeplechase Association's parties.
She joined the organization's board of directors following her father's death. A member for more than 20 years, Conger eventually became the panel's secretary.
Conger's mother, Realtor Courtney Conger, was an early influence on her career as an artist.
"She was an English major in college and a (newspaper) reporter for a while, but art was one of her loves," Georgianna Conger said. "She was very artistic. She painted pictures of my brothers and some of our dogs. She never really pursued it. She did it mostly for fun, but she encouraged me. "
Someone else who made a big impact on Conger was Sandra Etherington Tucker.
When Tucker was an exercise rider at the Aiken Training Track, she lived in the home of Conger's parents.
"I was 4 or 5 years old at the time," Conger said. "She was an incredible artist, and I was mesmerized by her work."
Others also had an impact on the development of Conger's creative process, including the late Anne Lattimore, an Aikenite known widely for her portrayals of horses and children.
Conger began taking lessons from Lattimore at the age of 10 and they continued until she was 18.
"Anne was my hero, and she was a huge part of my art life," Conger said. "Everything I do has a little bit of Anne in it. She was such a kind, loving and nurturing person. Her impressionistic paintings influenced me, but I'm more of a realist."
In addition to this country, Conger's works have been displayed in Canada, Great Britain, Jamaica and Bermuda, according to her website, congersportingart.com.
Conger's favorite medium is oil, but she also enjoys drawing with pencils and painting with acrylics and watercolors.
"Oils are incredible," Conger said. "They certainly flex your artistic muscles."
In addition to horses and people with their horses, dogs are among Conger's most popular subjects. But she's also created likenesses of such other creatures as chickens and cats.
"I'm constantly fascinated by horses," Conger said. "They never bore me. Maybe it's because I was raised with horses, and maybe it's because they're something I've drawn since I was a little girl."
Conger has a Westphalian horse named Fergus and a paint horse named Deacon, and she also owns three dogs.
Her studio is in the barn where guests of Thomas and Louise Hitchcock used to keep their horses. The wealthy couple played a prominent role in establishing Aiken's Winter Colony in the latter half of the 1800s.
"It's like my sanctuary. It's wonderful," said Conger of her workspace, where she also teaches art lessons to children and adults.
