To end the year, I’ve chosen a subject that’s iconic: the long-hair, long-horned Highland cow. Their long hair covers a coat of shorter, helping to shed rain in a wet climate. Most Highland cows I see are rusty-earthy-orange-brown, but their colours range from black-brown to blonde-white.
The photo is intended to be a starting point, open to various composition possibilities, rather than being a photo that presents you with a perfect composition, lighting, etc. Will it be more of a portrait of a single cow, or will you include them all and a suggestion of location? Might you include more grass rather than the bare earth around the feeder? Make a note of your first thoughts or impulses, then push the ideas a bit further with thumbnails to see it leads.
The style, medium, and size of painting are up to you. Click on the photo to get the largest version of it or go here.
Suggestion: do versions in different mediums.
- Pencil (with an eraser)
- Pen (as you can’t erase you have to work through/past mistakes)
- Black ink (with a brush not a pen)
- Pastel, soft or oil (the scale of the painting should suit the size of mark a pastel makes; don’t work too small)
- Coloured Pencil (don’t work too big or you’ll be at it all month)
- Watercolour (transparent colour)
- Acrylic or oil paint
- Collage (torn or cut)
- Mixed media
So far I’ve ticked 2, 3 and 9 from the list (though the later did start out as a watercolour), aiming for a ‘portrait’ of a cow rather than a ‘landscape with cows’ painting.
