FOR UNDY woman Elin-Sian Blake, it was too hard to choose between her love for horses and her passion for art, so she combined the two.

This has led to the 28-year-old artist, of The Causeway, being selected as one of five artists to showcase their work at the “Art of Country Life” exhibition at the Gallery in the Square next month.

Ms Blake, who came from a farming background, started riding horses at the age of six.

As well as this love for horses, she was also interested in art and gained her first painting commission at the age of 11 after being asked to paint someone’s horse.

After graduating from the University of Glamorgan with a degree in Graphic Design in 2002, Ms Blake worked for several years in stables and farms, mostly in London.

It was in 2005 while staying in a caravan in Cheshire that she started doing more paintings of some of the gypsy horses which led to her taking to the road in a 1980s converted Bedford TK horsebox selling her paintings at shows and fairs.

She said: “I’ve always loved horses and always loved art so this was just a way of bringing my two passions together.”

A previewing of the 'Art of Country Life' exhibition will take place on May 14.