Painting Cows

Herefords in Georgia

Those of you who know my work usually see my paintings of old farm buildings in egg tempera.
Well, along with rural farms there are the crops and animals that you may find on those farms. I have painted cows off-and-on since I was a kid and once in a while I get the urge to do a painting of these stalwart animals. I've just completed an oil painting commission of Herefords for some folks and I'm also working on a couple egg tempera cow paintings for a future show.

Here is a sequence of steps that I take to paint in oils:

First I prepare a pencil sketch on paper to determine composition :

Then, when I'm pleased with the design, I begin working up the basics of the layout in paint on the canvas (or panel):

Then I work up the painting in many stages and glazed layers:





















And then the final details and color adjustments:

My work on egg tempera paintings is similar. Working on panels with egg tempera pigments gives me the opportunity to be as detailed as I want or fairly loose with my painting technique. One of the main differences is the need to keep the egg tempera layers thin and that keeps the paint fairly transparent. It can make the piece glow with color.

Here are a couple of initial cow layouts for an egg tempera painting that will be completed in a couple of weeks.










And a black egg tempera wash created using burnt umber and ultramarine blue pigments:

Check back in early January to see some completed egg tempera cow paintings. Thank you for reviewing my blog entry and Happy Holidays!