I live in a very rural area, surrounded by small, family-run farms. Many of my neighbors also keep cows, so I am always driving by cows (and oftentimes groups of cows) when I go anywhere.
I ventured into painting them during an online workshop with Patti Mollica last year, where we ventured into a variety of genres. And I discovered what great painting subjects cows can be.
There are several reasons for this:
a) They engage you the viewer with their own curiosities. When you photograph them or simply stand and look at them from, they directly meet your gaze. “What are you looking at?” they seem to say (and not always in the mildest of manners.)
b) They have these great, big masses, which make for great shapes in paintings. Whether painted alone or in groups, cows take up a lot of surface area.
c) And a cow can really hold a pose.
Acrylic (9 x 12″)