The memory of painting the new
True Type Cow and Bull for the Holstein Association will live on for me long
past the completion of the two paintings. Yesterday, as I reached across
the table to get a different brush, my entire pallet of paint slid off my lap
and landed upside down on the carpet. I wiped it up earnestly – but the imprint of a full color
pallet is now smeared into the beautiful floral rug where I sit and
paint! Lifting the pallet up off the floor was a funny moment...in my
head I knew that there would be paint all over the carpet, but somehow, I had
this child-like hope that maybe, magically, none had. OH well...the only
thing worse than that happening, was the hair and lint that was now stuck all
over my pallet!
I now enter my final week of painting, and will try to wrap the
paintings up in the next 7 or 8 days. The cow is 98% done, with only
minor tweaks remaining. The bull is in the middle of my final pass of
painting, which I call the finish work – going over the highlights and shadows
throughout the bone structure and body confirmation, adjusting color as needed
in just the right places, and making sure the anatomy is ‘spot on’ with the
committee’s wishes. The commission of these two paintings has been a big
journey, a marathon of its own sort. Nearing the finish is a bittersweet
feeling. Letting go of something you have worked really hard and
diligently on – the paintings are now part of me, and I them. The
excitement for me of creating the paintings will soon end – but it is just the
beginning for all Holstein enthusiasts and cow lovers who wait with anticipation
of what these new paintings will look like. I am hopeful that
expectations will be met, and the goal of creating the new ideal animals will
be a triumph.
For now...I better get back to work! Thanks for reading.
Bonnie
Do you have a question for Bonnie about this project or any of her
other work? Post them here and she will answer!
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