I haven’t posted in a while, my daughter is home from college, my son is in finals, I have commissions going, we had a racoon family living in our chimeny, blah blah blah, lots of things were keeping me from painting. But I couldn’t take it anymore (!) so I found the time to paint this little painting.
My mother-in-law lives in the Texas Hill Country, not far from her house is a long Ranch Road that my husband I usually walk daily when our family visits. Last time we were up there taking our walk, this little herd of cattle was right in the middle of the road. Usually when I try to take photos of cows they are in a field and we are zooming by in the car at 70 mph. I take pictures anyway. The cows are usually facing the wrong way (away from me), or they are too far away, or something. Good cow pictures are hard to come by. So what a gift it was to see these cows right there in front of me! I used my husband’s cell phone to call our daughter and asked her to quickly grab my camera and hop in the car and drive it to me! She did and I took some great photos of these cows.
This painting is 9″x12″ oil on canvas. This will be my new size canvas for a while, I ordered a bunch of panels from New Traditions Art Panels recently and I feel like I need to use them up.
I’m thinking about getting a new easel for outdoors. I have a wooden Julian easel that is just too heavy to drag around when I paint outdoors. Does anyone have a plein air easel recommendation? I would love to hear about plein air easels, thank you!
I love the cow painting, Joan! And now I need to check out New Traditions Art Panels. (Always on the lookout for new products.)
Regarding a plein air easel, I also have a wooden Julian easel. But I’m thinking of getting an easyL easel. I’ve heard good things about this one.
So happy that you are back!! Love this painting! So typical of cows to just sort of stare. And so wonderful to have a relative that lives in the hill country!
I have an Open Box M which I really like. I’ve heard good things about the easyL, too. Also, check out what Carol Marine has. I would also check eBay and see if there is anything for sale at a good price.
Glad you were able to get some work done! I hate it when everything seems to get in the way.
I LOVE my Open Box M…I have 2 diff. sizes. They are incredibly sturdy, and really elegantly and thoughtfully made too. Highly recommend!!
Hi Janelle, thank you for stopping by. You will love the New Traditions Art Panels.
Linda and Karen, thank you for your recommendations for an easel. The Open Box M easels look very nice, with a price tag to match!
Joan
Hi Joan–good to see you back–your cows are just right and I should know, I grew up in Illinois, therefore I am a cow expert.
As for the easel–I have an easyL and also I am getting an open M. The open M is spendy so I made my h buy it for me. lol. Seriously, I could probably be happy with the easyL..but i paint so much it won’t hurt for me to have two.
Either open M or EasyL are super good choices.
Those cows are REALLY checking you out!! Like they aren’t sure what you’re going to do next!!
Nice painting.
I recommend the EasyL pochade. I use the mid-sized one and find it’s good for both small and larger boards. I ran over it with my car about two months ago and it held up relatively well…. (sigh… a sad tale that I blogged about if you’re interested:
http://marianfortunati.com/blog/18636/i-ran-over-my-pochade-box-the-other-morning
In the meantime… enjoy your time with family… That IS the most important thing of all!!
Many times on my countryside adventures I have come across exactly this type of scene where the young cows are inquisitive enough to come forward for a look but too scared to get close. Lovely little painting, Joan.
Regarding easels for plein air work it depends how you intend going about it, for example if you are travelling to your chosen spot by car then it doesn’t need to be light-weight, but if like me you carry everything on your back and walk some miles to the more inaccessible locations then it needs to be as light as a feather for carrying but sturdy enough to withstand rough treatment from the elements. Mine is a Royal Langnickel Sketching easel made of aluminium.
Great painting! Love the mountains, I am in the Blue Ridge Mountains (southern Appalachians) so always love mountain pics. Of course the cows are adorable too. Just out surfing and landed here, hope you have a great day!