Sunday, August 31, 2008


On the Move

Oil on board, 4 7/8" x 9"
$200.00 + $6.00 shipping in US.
SOLD


This is a bit larger painting for today.

I enjoy watching the cattle in the pastures around our house. They seem to have a daily routine, hanging out in different parts of the field at different times of day. When they move, they all go at once.

I just heard on the radio about a new study that claims grazing cattle always tend to face either magnetic north or south. So now I'm going to have to start watching for that. And you thought I didn't have anything to do.

9 comments:

Art By Erika said...

Don I have no idea how you get any opportunity to paint, you're always so busy! Have you thought about hanging little metallic necklaces on them to test the magnetic theory? :)

Nice composition and distribution of colors. How do you design your composition? Do you respond to the positive and negative shapes or do you mainly zero in on your focal point?

Mary Sheehan Winn said...

Love this and love watching cows. Fascinating critters. I wonder who figured out the magnetic thingy?

Don Gray said...

HA...you're right, Erika--so much to do, so little time. Love the metallic necklace idea :)

Usually I begin with some little relationship that I like...it can be notes of color, qualities of light, or interesting shapes. It's important to me to have some kind of abstract power to the design, aside from subject matter. In this case I had taken a bunch of cow photos, and in one the cow on the right and the sunlit calf were in more or less that relationship, which I liked. Once I had those two roughed-in, others were added, subtracted and moved around during the painting process until the design "felt" right.

Thanks for visiting.

Don Gray said...

Thanks, Mary. I don't know who did the study, but I don't think our cows got the news. I watched them grazing this morning, and they were facing every-which direction.

But as a friend of mine pointed out, grazing cows always have their heads pointed in the same direction--down :)

Anonymous said...

You sure got in a lot of cow for the space. Nice work, but that is nothing new for you.

Don Gray said...

I'm a firm believer in having a high cow-to-square-inch ratio, Bill. Many thanks.

Jean Victory said...

I just love cows! Nice composition!

Don Gray said...

Thanks, Jean!

Diana Moses Botkin said...

Well maybe those dunderheaded researchers who claimed the north south cow direction were walking along an east-west road doing their studies. Since cows always turn to look at you when you go by, that would explain it.

Nice painting, BTW. I like the red earrings. :~)