Pencil First: The Hand-Drawn Art Behind The Equine Aficionado
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Every shirt in The Equine Aficionado collection starts the same way — not with a computer, not with AI, but with a pencil and a blank piece of paper.
I'm Patricia (Trish) Mayer, the artist and owner behind The Equine Aficionado LLC, and every design you see on our apparel is hand-drawn by me using Faber-Castell and Caran d'Ache colored pencils. These aren't stock images or digital illustrations. They're original works of art — drawn one careful stroke at a time.
Why Colored Pencil?
Colored pencil is a demanding medium. It requires patience, layering, and an intimate knowledge of how colors interact on paper. I work on Strathmore paper for commissions and smooth white paper for t-shirt designs--specifically chosen to maximize color vibrancy, so that when the artwork is translated to a printed shirt, the richness of the original piece comes through faithfully.
No filters. No shortcuts. Just the pencil, the paper, and the horse.
From Sketch to Shirt
Each design begins as a full original drawing — sometimes a landscape, sometimes a portrait, sometimes a moment I witnessed at the barn that I couldn't stop thinking about. From that original piece, I refine and adapt the composition for print, redrawing on smooth white paper to ensure the colors translate beautifully to fabric.
Some designs, like the TEA signature logo, went through multiple evolutions — from a full landscape drawing, to a detailed silhouette, to the clean brand mark you see today. What you're wearing is the result of that entire creative journey.
The Horses Behind the Art
Many of our designs are inspired by real animals. Rowdy, my miniature horse with famously excellent taste (he chose his own hat — look it up), has inspired more than one design. Sandy, our beloved mini mule, is the face that launched our most-engaged Facebook ad ever. Hot Rod, Rowdy's napping companion, inspired the Mini Differences tee.
These aren't just shirts. They're portraits of real animals, drawn with real love.
Wearable Art for the Equestrian Who Knows the Difference
When you wear a TEA shirt, you're wearing an original. Something made by hand, by an artist who lives this life — who knows what it feels like to stand at the fence at 6am with a cup of coffee, watching a mini horse decide whether today is a good day to cooperate.
That's the art behind the shirts. We hope you love wearing it as much as we love making it.
