Horses are freedom in motion—and for Maggie, they are also mirrors. “There’s a flow to them,” she says. “Painting is flow, but with horses, you don’t want to be anywhere else or doing anything else.” Calm, intuitive, and almost meditative, horses offer her the same grounding energy she channels into her canvases.
Her journey into painting was fueled by personal loss. Maggie’s sister, Lacey, who passed away in December 2019, inspired her first full immersion into art. “I started painting at the beginning of 2021, following her first death anniversary,” Maggie shares. “That experience was the fuel of expressing myself fully through art.”
Her work resonates far beyond aesthetics. Collectors, mostly horse owners, often reach out to share how her paintings helped them process grief, honor loss, or reconnect with emotions they’d buried. Her piece All the Noise, donated to the Texas Spirit Initiative Auction, is a perfect example. Growing up in New Orleans, Maggie experienced the heartbreak of Hurricane Katrina firsthand. “Flooding and devastation hit close to home,” she explains. “This piece is about grief, tragedy, and the constant noise in our society. I hope it gives people a safe space to feel and heal.”
In the studio, Maggie carefully constructs the environment for creation: slow, meditative music—drums, chimes, and violin—or occasionally upbeat tunes that inspire emotion, but never chaos. Affirmations cover her walls, grounding her before she touches the brushes. A painting, she explains, isn’t just color on canvas—it’s closure, a way to honor raw, universal feelings.
She balances commissioned work with original creations, allowing her financial needs and creative passions to coexist. “I usually do a few commissions, then paint an original piece,” she says. “Ideally, I’d like to make even more original art and have the freedom that comes with it.” Her favorite subjects? Quarter Horses, as well as legendary fictional horses like Spirit—stories that first ignited her lifelong love of these majestic animals.
Looking forward, Maggie envisions expanding her artistic reach: entering competitions, combining her paintings with poetry in books, even creating a children’s book with her own illustrations. One dream project is a 3D bronze version of Holding Space, a piece she feels deserves the permanence and reverence of sculpture.
For Maggie, art isn’t just about horses—it’s about holding space, honoring emotion, and connecting people to something bigger than themselves. “Finishing a painting,” she says, “isn’t about closing grief. It’s about honoring it—and realizing everyone else feels it too, in their own way.”
Maggie’s work is a reminder that horses aren’t just animals—they’re companions, teachers, and vessels of emotion. And through her art, Maggie makes that connection visible for everyone lucky enough to encounter it.
