Done, Finally!

Finishing this up was not as hard as I thought it would be. I quite enjoyed the way the foreground grasses came together, the abstraction involved. Adding interest to the foreground helps make the cattle look more shy by pushing them further away. The spookiness of the animals is part of what I’m trying to show in this painting. I couldn’t get near them… they just kept moving away from me through the deep grass. Using such a close value range was fun and something I’m not doing enough in other paintings. Last version.

And I’ve adjusted values on Pig.

Hey, that’s breaking a golden rule. Values are supposed to be dealt with first. But I think he’s much better, so breaking rules is OK by me! Last version.

Long Horns

I need to add a bit more to the grasses.

It’s a challenge for me to paint this foreground. I want depth yet not to paint much detail. It is taking more paint than I would have thought. Almost everything is almost the same color with subtle variations in value. I keep trying to affect the surface with more than a brush. I’m using my fingers (with gloves) and a rag, putting paint on, then taking it off, smearing and spackling. Like I said, it doesn’t look quite right yet. I do like the way the cattle are standing in the field and how the sun has been “turned on” them.

I wish it were bigger. I don’t like working with the little brushes. It’s on a 12″ x 24″ board. I guess, someday I could do another.

Time

I’ve been too busy with the farm to paint. Not painting has been not good for my spirit. But today, I had a chance to work on these two.

I need to finish the longhorns before I tackle the grassy foreground which will partially obliterate them. I want the paint on the cattle dry before I get a little sloppy painting the golden grasses. I may need to wait a couple of days, before I finish it.

The rooster has some nice qualities but I’m not sure the drawing works for me. When I originally drew him, he moved before I finished. I had to make up his bottom half. I may need to go back and try again. I do like the abstracted hens in the “coop” in the background.

Just a start

I am making up the background for my original sketches of these animals, Except for the longhorns where the background was part of the first sketch. I was attracted to the angle of the hillside and the flat fields beyond.

I want to use the background to steer (no pun intended) the painting toward abstraction. I’m looking to Linda Christensen for inspiration.

Animal Studies

Had a chance to do some sketching at a large ranch I had visited last fall. The long horn cattle were striking! Unfortunately Saturday, they were quite shy. I would walk close enough to see them, and they would move over the hill… and believe me, they have lots of room to roam.

The draft mules, on the other hand, were most friendly. More to come from these studies. Several will make nice paintings I think. These small quick gouache studies are such a good way for me to work out problems.

Thank you Sue for the opportunity.