Although the viewer cannot tell what I am going to do with these two canvases that have a base of muted colors over black, I just finished blocking in my base color for a 18” x 24” painting of 2 longhorns splashing in the water. I got approval from the longhorn ranchers in Colorado to base my painting from a photo on their website. I am so excited to paint these two longhorns enjoying playing in this rippling water. To create this first canvas, I painted over a block-in of a cowboy on horseback with a calf draped over his saddle that was just was not working, and blocked-in the canvas to what you see now. So, that block-in disappeared to make room for the longhorns splashing.
I also finished blocking in my base color for a 20” x 24” canvas of a gorgeous longhorn bull standing in shallow water. A rancher in Texas approved me using his photo as a basis for my painting. Actually, I’m not sure where I will go with this one. I plan on toning down the lily pads a bit. I don’t want them to override what I do with the bull.
Lastly, I am so excited about these two paintings that I may just paint them simultaneously, starting with the two longhorns splashing in the water.