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davepuls — Cow 51
Published: 2010-12-11 10:09:45 +0000 UTC; Views: 1246; Favourites: 43; Downloads: 18
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Description
Here is my latest animal Oil Pastel. This is from a photo which I took over 10 years ago in the Lake District, in the rain, and has hung on the wall at home ever since. We always call her "Cow 51" due to the number on her ear tag. My wife loves cows, and I am intending this to be a surprise Christmas present for her.Please let me know what you think...
Sennelier and Neopastel oil pastels on A4 (12x8in) pastel paper.
Entered into the traditional art portrait contest: [link]
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Comments: 31
Hi Dave! Well to be sincere, I'm not a big,big fan of cows or animal paintings in general, but I love the vibrant contrast of the colours between the cow and the grass, and I also like the softness of the dark blurred background! There's something very nice about this picture, I think it's like a moment captured in time, we could be looking at this cow at this very moment 
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I took a photo of this cow over 10 years ago. So, I often think about the fact that she must be long dead, but in my photo and painting her image still lives...
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aw I love cows too! lolz. not only have you done a marvelous job on the young cow but you've created a present for your wife at the same time. how sweet
My favorite part of #51's portrait is her expression. It's very cow-like indeed!
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you are most positively welcome
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I like it. I tried to do a cow. Not as well done as yours.
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I love cows! this is very sweet and done nicely. You do such excellent pastel works, Dave
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Thanks Cheryl! I am being encouraged to do more of cows...
I am really enjoying using oil pastels in my art, as they are a lot less messy and time consuming to set up/clear up than my other paints. But I also like the way it is so easy to either retain the marks made with the pastels, or smooth them out with a finger.
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When I work with pastels I found the best way to keep your fingers from getting muddy was some baby oil in a cup, dip your fingers and wipe the excess off. I love soft pastels but I'm with you, they can get very messy. Cannot wait to see what you come up with next
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Thanks! I'm the kind of artist who always keeps meticulously clean, so I don't have that problem. I just wipe fingers on kitchen towel, or if that doesn't do it, wash with soap and water. But oil pastels don't make much mess...
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Awwwww! It's so cute! I love cows too, I think your wife will be pleasantly surprised
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Thank you! I was thinking about all of your wonderful cow paintings, Kathie, however I decided to use oil pastels, as I haven't quite figured out how to do this kind of subject in acrylics...
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Your welcome, you can do it.. same way you do your flowers... just less paint,and a little thinner paint and little dabs of color here and there using your reference. You'd do it well I'm sure.
Dont know till you try,
Thats what I did.. thought ok lets go for it and just looked at it like alot of different shapes and colors.
Luv,Kathie
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Well I am feeling more inspired to have a go! The difficulty I find with acrylics is that my drawing quickly becomes covered, and the final result looks nothing like the original drawing or plan. Or maybe I'll have to do the "alla prima" approach, and do one section at at time, rather than covering the whole canvas at the start...
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Dave, check out some of my posts on wc, It shows how the underpainting, very thin and watery will hold your sketch,just to block in the colors and you can build up from there. its light enough you can still see your sketch then you add layer and layer of color on top to build it up. Hope this helps.
Luv,Kathie
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this is amazing - she is so cute 
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I'm sure your wife will love it =] it's really good!
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