Past Projects
I always dreamt about having a rocking horse as a child, but I had to wait until I was 41!
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My first one was "Adi", a small Collinson & Sons horse, that had had a bit of a crude repaint, with no mane or tail and was off the stand. I still thought she was cute even in the state she was in, but knew I could bring her to life.
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Using my love of horses, experience of painting and the skills I picked up from working in the building trade. She was stripped sanded and rebuilt.
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From then on I've been hooked!
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With several sympathetic restorations, as well as my realistic refurbishments under my belt, I feel I have learnt so much over the past couple of years. I'm still obsessively reading and researching, soaking up as much information as I can. there is just so much to learn, but I'm loving every minute of it.
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I am now confident carving new legs, replicating old paintwork and stitching together saddles, I am so exited to find out wat else I can achieve.
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The examples on this page are not really up to date, but show some examples of past work. the best way to find out what I'm up to, is to follow my Facebook page, which is updated regularly with my current projects.
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https://www.facebook.com/ellenwilkinsonart
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My horses do tend to sell quite quickly, but please keep an eye on my Rocking Horses for Sale page to see what I have in stock and some examples of sold stock
"Adi"
My fist rocking horse refurbishment.
This is how she looked when she was done
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I chose not to tack her up, as she was very small, (even my 3 year old was huge on her) and wanted her to be a display piece rather than a toy.
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Emily still misses her though, even though we have a houseful now!
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Click on the image to see some before and progress shots xxx
"Gus"
Gus was a different challenge again. He came to me as a very well loved fabric covered horse, Collinson's again, and probably made in the 60's. One leg was broken and he looked very sorry for himself.
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Click on the image to seethe before and afters xx
"Flora"
Poor Flora was dubbed "Scary Mary" when she arrived .She was truly hideous!
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She would have originally been dapple grey, but the era of "Shabby Chic" had captured her!
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Click on the image to see the transformation!!! xxx
"Raffles"
A lovely solid horse made by David Postin, and was generally in fairly good condition, I couldn't decide whether to give him a quick spruce up or go the whole hog.
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After consulting a well respected rocking horse expert, I decided to go for it!
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We called him Budgie at home, but his new owner renamed him Raffles
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Click on the image to see the before and afters xxx
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"Miller"
This Stunning Antique Ayres horse is a much loved family heirloom, that I was honoured to work on.
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Click the image to learn a bit more about him
"Sugar Lump"
The much overlooked Leeway box horse, will never be a top class horse, but can still look super cute, ideal for a smaller budget.
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I think she worked out really well, click the image to see how she started off
"Prince"
A real Prince charming! I'm so pleased with how he turned out, but he wasn't always this way.....
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Please click on the image to see how he was when I found him.