Heeland Coos

I'd wanted to paint a black Highland cow for a while but not had the opportunity until spotting this beauty at the Royal Welsh Show last year. Most of the entrants for this category were the usual red type including one which was making his debut and then it all kicked off in the arena. Haven't a clue what started it but it was like a town centre on a Friday night (I know - I've seen the Bill..well, it did lose it's appeal when it was on more than twice a week but you get the idea)

Mr Debut, probably high on sniffing that stuff they spray on their coats to make them shine which smells similar to the stainless steel and chrome cleaner from Lakeland...oh I'm digressing again, disgraced himself running amok and was promptly disqualified. But, I'll give the handler some credit - she did hang on and I bet she has a new personal best for the 100m now! The picture below doesn't capture the excitement of it and the speed they were advancing out of the arena but I didn't think about taking a photo when it first happened as I was a little too close, guess I'll never make a photo journalist!

Anyway, I liked the look of this black one which I painted at a demo and have named him "Dirty McFlirty" as he has that kind of look about him. I had the finished piece float framed in a black contemporary frame and it sold soon after. Unusually for me, I've included the nose ring and that's because I wanted to break up the dark colouring and draw the eye to it.

I have also painted one of my favourite subjects - a Highland calf which is shown below. This is one of the youngsters from an award winning fold not far from me which I paint regularly. "Wee Bairn" is oil on a 24"x24" canvas and float mounted in a chunky contemorary frame.

From Ice Palace to Snow Cow

The new house is extremely warm and I am a convert to new builds and modern insulation although I do think an extra inch or two of soundproofing would not go amiss sometimes especially as baby Stanley (I know!) wails through the wall..still..we're sleeping through the night now but I think teething has started. There are however, less cows on the door step and I will miss being able to see the Limousin bull whilst walking up to the pub but I have spotted a herd of what may be Devon reds six or seven minutes from the house. They've gone in for the winter now so it will be a while before I can assess it but no doubt they will be appearing on a canvas in the near future.

Just before Christmas, for the first time in almost six years the snow fell here and I was able to achieve an ambition to build a snow cow. A rather pleasant hour or so was spent creating a Highland cow as I've painted a few of them recently although the horns proved the most difficult. Despite next door leaning out of the window (not Stanley's dad - the other side) asking if it was a dog (phillistine!) I actually think it turned out quite well. A slight thaw during the night meant it was polled by breakfast as it's horns lay in bits on the grass but not to worry.