Sunbathing Cow in September's Golden Light, Tiffany Farms, Old Lyme, CT oil painting by Roxanne Steed

6"x6" oil on gessoed masonite artboard

"Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it,the road comes into existence."
- Lin Yutang


This is the second of my two little cow studies, this one done with a brush. As fellow Daily Painter Mike Rooney previously noted in his blog, there are just some paintings that lend themselves well to the brush & others the knife. One is not better than the other, they just manipulate the paint differently depending on the effect you aim to achieve. I believe it's great to have access to all the tools in the box - and know what you can get out of them!

Anyways, back to the scene- here in CT we are in the prettiest season- the weather is still nice, less humid than summer, a bit of crisp-chill in the air at night. The leaves are starting to turn here and there....and it lasts until roughly mid-October before it gets super chilly! Life is good in this beautiful corner of the state!

One of the things I wanted to try in doing this comparison between the two "little cow paintings" was in the simplifying of things - a limited palette, and ONE TOOL only. In the previous post, I've painted the cow with one palette knife (it's large, with a slightly rounded end - a Langnickel P-5 for you artists out there). For this painting done with a brush - I chose to use ONE BRUSH only! Yes, for the whole thing! It has to be big enough to hold some paint (I do like texture for sure) and be able to have one clean straight edge. The one brush that I really like for these small sized paintings is a Robert Simmons #6 Bright (it's shorter bristle than a flat). You can use the same one through-out the painting if...(and I figured this out by using a knife) when you are going to change colors, wipe the excess off of your brush onto the palette- chances are you can mix this into something else at some point, even if it's to neutralize another color. Then, after the bulk is off of your brush, wipe it firmly with a paper towel, DON'T dip into any turps or you'll have a runny mess and an mushy brush!! Lay the paint on, don't scrub it in. Think of frosting a cake, if you try to lay that frosting on too hard, you'll tear up the cake & all those cakey bits will mess up your frosting. Same with paint, you need to have enough on the brush to be able to lay it on, don't skimp and be cheap (you'll just end up with a muddy mess)- paint is to be used! That's my theory and I'm sticking to it! :-) Now I have the afternoon to spend on some sketches! YAY!

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