Nine-year-old Shiloh has his own YouTube video, and about 20 of his paintings are being featured at the gallery.
Since he first learned to paint in August, more than 14 of his paintings have sold. Ten of them were purchased from the gallery and a handful of them have been acquired by family and friends. The cost to purchase each painting ranges from $25 to $55, depending on the size of the painting. The smallest size available is 8 inches x 10 inches. Other sizes being offered are 11 x 14, 12 x 16, 16 x 20 and 20 x 24. There are also a variety of colors available.
Becky Gebhart, owner of Picture This, said she has the YouTube video playing on a table-top television in the store, and she believes that has helped to boost sales.
“We have a whole wall of his paintings and a video that runs all of the time. It shows Shiloh painting. He comes in from the field and you can see his studio, where he has paint all over the wall,” Gebhart said. “It’s so cute, people come in, and the kids love to watch it. I walk by and hear people laughing. Everybody is fascinated by it. This horse knows exactly what to do with the paint brush and he paints on the canvas.”
“We have been doing extremely well with Shiloh’s work. I didn’t know how it would do, but I said, ‘Let’s give it a try.’ We have sold quite a few,” she continued. “Many animal lovers also really appreciate it. Once they see the video, they know it’s done by the horse. They can see him in action.”
Cronin has Shiloh’s cherished first painting hanging on her kitchen wall. She said she taught him how to paint after seeing another horse paint. It only took Shiloh three days to perfect his art, because he already knew how to pick something up and take it.
“He loves to learn new things. He’s a dynamic horse and he has a big personality,” Cronin said. “I saw horse painting on the ‘Today Show’ in May. His name is Metro and he lives in Gettysburg, Penn. I was like ‘Wow, I could teach Shiloh to do that.’ I was in summer school, so I didn’t get a chance to try it with him until the end of August. I had to teach him to take something from me.”
Born on St. Patrick’s Day, Shiloh already knew how to fetch and do other tricks, Cronin says, so it wasn’t hard to teach him how to hold the paint brush and swipe the canvas. She dips the brush in the paint and hands Shiloh the paint brush. He regularly paints one-to-two times a week for 20 to 25 minutes each time. It gives him something different and fun to do to break up the day.
“I love to spend time with my horse. I sit in the pasture while he eats, I’m one of those. I like to do things with him and this is one more thing we can do together,” Cronin said. “He’s a special horse. There’s something about him that’s super cool and we have a great connection.”
She said his paintings are unpredictable in a good way. He takes a swipe and then he might zig or zag in a different direction.
“I hold the canvas when he paints. Sometimes, I expect him to swipe the brush a certain way and puts his head in a different place. I can’t predict or control that. I let him put the paint brush where he wants. Every painting is different. They turn out awesome,” Cronin said.
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