Sometimes you see your style develop when you least expect it.
This painting is a winner in my book. It practically painted itself. On the farm we had Holsteins and the heifers were always so enthusiastically curious. You could always guarantee them to greet you at the fence.
This piece started with a solid drawing of these cows, giving me confidence. Choosing a cool dominant palette using only French Ultramarine, Scarlet Lake and Aureolin Yellow to simplify my decisions, I painted in the whites and medium tones all the way into the background. Next, I concentrated on the black patches on the cows, changing the colors in them. Look carefully and see how blues turn to greens or violets, etc. Then I layered a simple background wash defining the corral with warmer colors. Finally, the big dark cow shapes were painted in, highlights were lifted and a few details brought out. What stylistically developed in this piece was the changing color in the line, singling out some pure repeated colors. That happened only because I was totally focused on painting. This painting was exhibited at a past Georgia Watercolor Society’s National Juried Exhibition.
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