Texas Longhorn Herd

12x12 watercolor on Masters 140 lb cold press paper done last week from multiple photos taken of a herd in Scurry County several years ago. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Till the Cows Come Home

8.25x5.25 mixed media in junk journal done recently using watercolor, Brusho, 0.5 STA Lictin pen, gel pen, and gouache of these country Holstein cows waiting to come home. I always liked that phrase. Collage elements are a grocery receipt from H.E.B. and a torn scrap of paper. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Charolais Cow

15x22 watercolor on Kilimanjaro 140 lb cold press paper completed today of same cow painted earlier and  reworked.  Lots of value challenges with this one!
COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

#InkTober day 11 ~ New Mexico Longhorn

4x6 watercolor and ink using Uniball Vision Elite pen on magazine card for the 11th day of worldwide #InkTober challenge.  Here I've used a brown and white steer seen on our trip last week to New Mexico. 
Image COPYRIGHT 2016 Kay Smith.

Mad Cow

10.25x9 mixed media on paper done today, another in my weird cow series. Media used: Watercolor, Staedtler Calligraph Duo 3.5mm pen, white gelly roll ink pen, black India ink, light blue Montana acrylic marker (background), and white gouache.Working from black and white photocopy all color is imaginary for this Hereford.   I tried to keep the values correct and put small bursts of colors here and there such as ultramarine blue and cadmium orange for this whimsical farm animal.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

California Cow - (demo) Midland TX Worshop/Day 26 of 30 Challenge

24x18 acrylics on canvas that was today's lesson for my Palette Club workshop in Midland, TX.  We used palette knives to apply thick applications of paint, lifting paint, scraping back, then overall enhancing colors.  My photo was of a black and white Holstein that is now red and white.  I've done two other variations of it.  Look closely in its right ear (our left), and in lower right where I've stamped California in red orange using an old strawberry plastic basket cut up for stencils.

Here are some of the painters hard at work:  L to R Dee Kemp, Somita Fekete, Alicia from Houston, Mary Tucci, and Nancy Henderson.


Since 9-1-15, I've posted daily works on Leslie Saeta's #30paintingsin30days challenge she hosts annually on her blog Slices of Life you can see HERE.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Colorful Cows

15x22 watercolor on 140 lb Lanaquarelle hot press paper that is today's work.  I sketched these bovine beauties with black India ink applicator on dry paper.  With a loaded brush #12 Escoda round I put random colors together instead of the usual boring black and brown or tan.  When almost done I wet a few areas then dropped ink in splotches.  The girls say hello and happy moo and where's the beef?
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Three Cows - a daily painting

Another daily painting from my trip this week of three lovely cows going off together, done in watercolor, 5x7 on hot press Fabriano paper and Winsor Newton travel kit paints.  So many of these animals have had a very bad year with the continous drought here in Texas.  Pray for rain!