Our horses have several types of painting.

1. The technique of one-way brushstroke. The patterns based on the Tomsk wooden architecture are made in this technique. For this, stylized patterns were developed on the basis of patterns taken from fragments of wooden carving of actually existing historical buildings of the city.
2. The traditional Ural-Siberian painting. Its characteristic feature is a double brushstroke. From time immemorial it was widespread in the Urals and across Siberia. It is characterized by a strictly built composition, in which the elements are not layered on each other and are connected by such elements as «grass» and «postscript».
3. The modern or «bouquet» Ural-Siberian painting. It is also made with a double brushstroke. In contrast to the classical canons here there is no rigid composition, and the flowers are arranged quite loosely in the background. The «bouquet» painting is characterized by multi-layers: the main elements are layered on the secondary, and the «grass» and «postscript» are mostly used for decorating the background around the «flower field».
4. «Dot painting.» This is a special kind of drawing, when dots are assembled into a pattern resembling beadwork. The technique of dot-painting was invented by Australian aborigines tens of thousands years ago. Dots are applied by a pointed stick with a thick paint.
5. Author’s painting. This category of horses includes models painted and decorated by famous artists and designers, each of them works in their own style and technique.

It is not easy to carve and paint these horses. The project employs highly qualified and certified specialists: artists of decorative applied art and folk crafts who work in two directions – carving and painting on wood. You can read about all the stages of horse production in the article «How are these little masterpieces created?» in the Publications section.

As a rule, we carve them from cedar, but we can make them from any wood according to your wishes. Why cedar? Its wood is easy to process, has a soft resinous aroma and a delicate pinkish hue.

The basis of the blank for carving is prepared on the joinery equipment, after which in the skilled hands of the master the blank is turned into a horse. Our carvers work only with hand tools (chisels and carving knives).

We paint and cover horses with nitro-enamels and oil paints, which have high quality pigment and are resistant to fading in the light.

Depending on the model of a horse it can be covered with oil or acrylic lacquer, which protects the horse surface from damage.

The horses are made as souvenirs, therefore in their production we comply with all the established ecological standards and buy only those materials that have the necessary ecological certificates. Our production is equipped with all the necessary filters and protective equipment for working with chemicals. And production wastes (solvents, rags, paints) are recycled in the Tomsk company «Poligon».

Depending on the size of the model, masters of carving and painting perform from five to twenty horses a day, but these are only the first stages of their creation. After drying the layers of primer and background paint, the painting master returns to these figures and places the first layer of the pattern. A few days later everything repeats several times, until the drawing acquires the necessary outlines. You can read about all the stages of production in the article «How are these little masterpieces created?» in the Publications section.

The horses are completely handcrafted with the minimal use of mechanical equipment. Each of them is unique: it is impossible to repeat it, even working with the same pattern for painting. The production of one horse can take up to two weeks. It depends on the color of the background and the complexity of the applied pattern, because numerous layers of paint and varnish need to be staged drying. You can read about all stages of production in the article «How are these little masterpieces created?» in the Publications section.