Why cows and how did it all start?

Whilst it’s mainly cows I paint if there’s an interesting looking sheep/pig or donkey I’ll paint those too! I’ve been painting wildlife professionally for the last twenty odd years but I was starting to lose interest so I was looking for a new challenge. Out walking one day with a borrowed dog I was fascinated by a stampede of cows arriving to look at the dog totally transfixed and each vying to get a better look. I was reminded of rugby players in a black and white strip and as I had my camera with me and photographed the scene. When I returned home I set about painting a large canvas and “Scrum” was born. You can see one of the original photos I took and the painting below. 

What medium do you use?

I paint in oil on canvas although because some of the colours I use are relatively transparent there would be “show through” of the white canvas underneath so I under paint the darker areas in acrylic first. I prefer to have the spontaneity and freshness of just one coat of oil rather than constantly reworking an area so the acrylic helps me achieve this. In these paintings of Bodie and Doyle you can see the under painting and compare this with a completed animal in the next picture.  I use Liquin as a medium with the oil which accelerates the drying time but does increase the transparency of the oil so again the acrylic helps counteract this and also means I can see what a painting is going to look like.

                       The under painting of Bodie and Doyle in acrylic below

                                      and as the oil colour is added, right                                            

How long does a painting take to complete?

I get asked this question the most often and it’s the most difficult to answer as they all vary. Some paintings flow well from the start and some require much more attention. Coloured pieces take much longer than the sepia ones but again it depends on the detail. This piece entitled “Gordon” had quite a bit of work to get the detail around the eyes and of course the chin markings had to have a little artistic licence added! I’m not that prolific really and paint about four a month.

Do you work from sketches or photos?

I often sketch an idea of what I want to do and possibly an idea for a title and then go off to find a suitable model such as this one in “Silent but Deadly” when I was interested in the idea that cows are held responsible for producing so much methane and wanted to portray a cow sniggering slightly about the fuss!

However, mainly I photograph the animals in the field as I want to capture a fleeting expression. I do sometimes work from composite photos to create an idea or design.

Where do you get your ideas from?

Sometimes it might start from a name or phrase I hear and I start to think about what image that conjures up in my mind. I keep a note of titles and have this in mind when I’m out with the animals or sometimes I see a cow which just looks like it should have a certain name. The names are vital to the artwork. Some of the first titles began when I was amused by the “pet” names people call themselves when they appear in the messages printed by the newspapers on Valentine’s Day. The ideas are all around me and I there aren’t enough hours in the day to paint them all.