BEAUTIFUL ARIES PORTRAITS

GOATS

Goats have unparalleled beauty. Not everyone sees it at first.

A goat is not the animal that comes to mind when considering beauty. But when more closely considered, their magnificence is emphatic.

On March 21, the Sun enters Aries, the astrological sign symbolized by Chrysomallus, the flying ram that provided the Golden Fleece. To celebrate, we are featuring a collection of incredible goat portraits by Kevin Horan.

KEVIN HORAN

While most see goats as scrappy, garbage-eating, tough-tasting, silly, and even stupid animals, whether they are wild or domesticated, those who get close to them know better. Photographer Kevin Horan got up close and personal to create stunning images to prove this out.

In his dedicated project, “Chattel: A Portrait Study,” Horan works with local farm rescues and sanctuaries near his studio in Washington State. He studies goats intensely -- not just how they look, but who they are inside.

Capturing the essence of their personalities -- their humor, their persistence, their cleverness, their resilience -- Horan’s photos give us a glimpse of his subjects’ souls.

In these photos, we see goats’ dignity, sensitivity, curiosity, and eager hearts. They almost seem to have human qualities, yet they are not anthropomorphized.

Horan both looks at animals as people and people as animals. His black and white photos are rich and deep, both in tone and in feeling.

We can almost feel the goats’ warm breath as we lean in to see the glorious detail of their eyes. We want to reach out and touch their hair. We want to cuddle the babies.

Trained as a photojournalist, Horan has published his work in The New York Times Magazine, Smithsonian, LIFE, U.S. News & World Report, National Geographic, and numerous other magazines and books.  

Horan was Artist in Residence at Glacier National Park. See BN post about National Parks Artists in Residence to learn more.

And explore the beauty of goats! Horan’s prints are available for purchase at 1st Dibs.

Read more about Beautiful March in Images & Idea About the Beauty of March Wind Now,  Pisces Gorgeous Glow Now and Celebrating A Wonderful Woman of Taste Now.

And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact Daily Fix posts.

Want more stories like this? Sign up for our weekly BN Newsletter, Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr. Join our BeautifulNow Community and connect with the most beautiful things happening in the world right now!

Do you have amazing photos? Enter them in this week’s BN Photo Competition. We run new creative competitions every week! Now, it’s even easier to enter with the new BeautifulNow App!

Plus check out the rest of our App’s beautiful features. It’s free to download here.

IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: by Kevin Horan. “Mr. Beasley.” Chattel: A Portrait Study.
2. Image: by Kevin Horan. “Emmy.” Chattel: A Portrait Study.
3. Image: by Kevin Horan. “Moolahlah.” Chattel: A Portrait Study.
4. Image: by Kevin Horan. “Lela.” Chattel: A Portrait Study.
5. Image: by Kevin Horan. “Lily.” Chattel: A Portrait Study.
6. Image: by Kevin Horan. “Sydney.” Chattel: A Portrait Study.
7. Image: by Kevin Horan. “Isabella.” Chattel: A Portrait Study.
8. Image: by Kevin Horan. “Jake.” Chattel: A Portrait Study.
9. Image: by Kevin Horan. “Carl.” Chattel: A Portrait Study.
10. Image: by Kevin Horan. “Bella.” Chattel: A Portrait Study.
11. Image: by Kevin Horan. “Xantippe.” Chattel: A Portrait Study.
12. Image: by Kevin Horan. “Mosaic.” Chattel: A Portrait Study.
13. Image: by Kevin Horan. “Sweet Pea.” Chattel: A Portrait Study.
14. Image: by BN App - Download now!
15. Image: by Kevin Horan. “Xenia.” Chattel: A Portrait Study.