A chestnut horse and the horseman quietly walk on a sandy ground toward the Dart River (officially Te Awa Whakatipu from Māori: Te Awa Whakatipu) which flows through rugged forested country in the southwestern South Island of New Zealand.

I am a horseback rider. I feel the silence of the landscape, the breath of my own horse, and the sound of his hooves on the soft ground. We are both thirsty, and patiently heading toward the river to quench our thirst, and then continue our journey.

Artist Biography
Cecilia Anastos is a self-taught, Italian-American painter. Using oil or acrylic on canvas, paper or wood, Ms. Anastos paints landscapes, cityscapes, and figurative compositions. Sometimes, she expresses her emotions through abstract paintings. Brightly colored and uplifting, her paintings tell stories that touch on the relationship of sentient beings with the environment and the joys and struggles of women around the world.