Gallant Angus

Gallant Angus____6x8 oil on linen panel_____$250 unframed
This is a Gallant Angus merely because I painted at a farm on Gallant Road today in Gadsden, Alabama. This is a beautiful area in Northern Alabama...mountains, rivers and friendy people who truly enjoy being hospitable to "tresspassing" artists :)
This angus was moving left when I began the painting, but she turned to the right with the whole herd. I picked up a second canvas and began another painting of a "right moving" cow...I was able to complete both paintings by moving back and forth between the canvases as the cows traversed the field...I will post the "right" one tomorrow

_______________V....Vaughan Spring Schedule________________

April 9-13, Southeastern Plein Air Festival, Gadsden, AL

Memorial Dy Weekend-May, Phippen Museum Western Art Show, Prescott, AZ

Summer Workshops in Texas, Colorado and more!

...see my schedule for more dates and events

British White

British White__6x6 oil on panel___$290 framed for Passing America: The Great Plains

I was introduced to this beautiful breed of cattle the last time I traveled through Nebraska on my Passing America journeys. I spent an afternoon on the Bohaty farm, where they raise grass-fed British Whites. This proved to be a VERY IMPORTANT visit, as I saw how a family is adjusting to the current farming climate, and is doing something GOOD and NEW! As I move forward soon to update my project blog I will share MUCH more about this farm!

I Love my blogging/ facebooking/ e-mailing friends, and I really know how to pick them! I only pick SMART ones, who also are clever and BEAUTIFUL! (right, y'all???)
A number of you wrote after yesterday's post and said you were giving me your "two cents' worth"...so I now have TEN CENTS and the proper name for the breed of cattle I posted yesterday...it is a Black Baldy...and you will see that I corrected the title on yesterday's post!

Here Hereford

Here Hereford___6x6 oil on panel___$290 framed for Passing America: The Great Plains
I am not sure why the Angus has taken over the popularity contest for cattle these days...maybe it's a marketing ploy for beef? In my studies for the farm exhibit, I am finding out a lot about our food supply as family farms fade away and the farms become corporations...This does not HAVE to be a bad thing, but somehow it is....
Anyway, When I see Hereford cattle, I think of "Texas"...maybe because that was the breed of choice in the pastures when I was growing up!...as an artist, I really do not care which breed is "best", I just like the VARIETY I have seen all across the plains.
I am seriously HOARDING my paintings these days...to make sure I meet the required numbers of new works for my upcoming exhibit in Nebraska. Pretty soon I will count all the works, and when I have the quantities I need, I will begin selling again :) Anything that is painted for the show will not be delivered till just before Christmas :)

Pastured Impatience

Pastured Impatience__9x12 oil on linen___Passing America: The Great Plains
I had a difficult time photographing this one and figured out it is because my brushwork was causing some random glares....sorry about that.
A favorite farm scene of mine is when the cattle egrets are in the pastures following whatever moving target is there. They are not picky and will follow a tractor just as often as they will follow the cattle. They get their meals when the moving target stirs up bugs...usually grasshoppers. This egret was impatient...probably because the cow was not helping him stir up dinner...

Quickie 2__cow, sketch, pen

Cow Sketch 2__see yesterday's post for the other one___ pen on paper__5.5 x 8.5___$50

I have a sketchbook of 30 pencil sketches on archival paper that I am selling on ebay. THE WHOLE SKETCHBOOK! Click the link to see all 30 sketches, and follow the links to ebay if you want to follow the sale, which ends on Oct 23. It is MY COLORADO SKETCHBOOK, and I did the work last summer.
The sketch above is a quick pen sketch, like the one I posted yesterday...they are a good "matched set"...if you like cows! These were sketched with a PEN, which might seem intimidating to those who prefer to have "eraser options", but, (as I told my new student, RV, yesterday) I like the adrenaline rush of NOT using an eraser....I prefer to turn the page if things go wrong :)
OH, THANK YOU for all the fun FOOTBALL comments!...I mentioned my son's team's Friday night game, and the FOUR OVERTIMES...well, today, they were honored to be named as the ONLY 5-A team in Texas for the ARMY STRONG TEAM OF THE WEEK...it is a GREAT honor! Below is the link to read about the Round Rock Dragons...
http://www.texasfootball.com/army-strong-teams-of-the-week

Spring One Plus Three

Spring One Plus Three___6x8 oil study on linen__$150 Click BLOG image to see thick details
The other day at my friend's ranch I was waiting for Robin to finish her work and grabbed just one more canvas to do this quick sketch. The "one" is the cow, and the "three" are the cattle egrets. I LOVE when the egrets accompany the livestock in the pastures, following closely to snatch up little bugs in the grass. It seems that the egrets on my old farm were more shy than these. These hung close to us all day, giving us opportunity for good sketching and good photos.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY To my oldest kiddo, DAVIE! I LOVE YOU!!

Lowing 3_black cow, cattle, white face, small oil painting

"Lowing 3"___6 x 6 oil study on linen___$150
The cattle are still lowing...I have revisited the farm lately, via photos and a few small studies. Compare this "Low-er" with yesterday's. It appears that it is the same cow, and I think it is. Funny, as an artist paints, our eye records MANY things each time we look up. We take note of proportions, and negative space and lights and darks and all the art terms you can think of...These things stay in our memory bank, stored up to use later on another painting. While painting the "bangs" on this cow's forehead, I remembered painting similar shapes and textures in yesterday's work....same cow! To you art students: THIS IS WHY carrying a sketchbook is SO IMPORTANT. I worked from two different photos that I had taken, but did not remember or notice the similarity in the photos of the cows. Shooting pictures really does NOTHING to improve your art technique...but sketching does! Do you agree?

Big Boy___black cow, angus, pen sketch, cattle

"Big Boy"...sketching a lotta bull!

This is officially "angus Week" for me, since I will be painting an angus scene tonite at a demo I am doing for an art club nearby. I have been enjoying the sketches, and when it came time to prepare reference for a demo, the angus angle seemed just right! I will post it tomorrow, unless it comes out awful...

Some of you, my "regulars" replied a few weeks ago that you'd like to follow my new blog "Passing America..." I will get more info out on that sometime during the Holidays. I created the blog this week, and am learning new things about Blogger. Since I started this blog a few years ago, I have done NOTHING to update it...just too busy to get on that roll, but last night I really got into it. It appears that while working on the new blog, I must have ordered changes or updates for this one , too, because it LOOKS different....UH OH, I hope I didn't lose all my archived content....

5 of 24 - Last Day on the Farm_Click here to bid

"One Last Day on the Farm_'What Fence?'_5 of 24"_6x8 oil on fine linen panel. Click to bid:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140238796046

Twenty-four paintings in 24 hours! One Last Day on the Farm..
Here is the fifth one I painted, just a couple weeks ago...
...
On the overcast day that I painted 24 in 24, the cows moved from pasture to pasture...T H R O U G H this fence. I see them do it all the time, and wonder how they keep from getting cut up....I think it's the "leather outfit" :)That's the explanation for this sub-title...they don't seem to be bothered by barb wire.

I love your comments! ...by the way...if you get my daily e-mail, did I send you the #3 auction link???? My "outbox" says "no" and there is NO WAY I will re-send it, (I am afraid to annoy my friends more than I already do!)so please go to the blog, or click the link if you missed it...