Last month, my friend Melissa signed up for a Cow Painting Workshop I taught at Clear Spring Farm. It was a hot August evening, and the cows were as lovely as always. I have painted them before, and I feel like we have come to an artistic understanding over the years.
Melissa was the only person who signed up for the workshop, which ended up being a very pleasant experience, peaceful and low-key. I showed her how I like to do my preliminary drawings, quickly, using only straight lines. I usually do a few of these straight-line drawings before I start painting. Here is one of the drawings that Melissa made:
The cows were relatively cooperative. At first they displayed a great deal of interest in our painting activities, but then they wandered off. It was ok, though, because we won’t doing “super realistic” painting. It was nice to have the cows around for their energy, but we could also use our memory, our sketches, and our intuitive response to the colors and shapes that we put on the surface of the painting.
We focused on color-shapes, and the way that one color behaves next to another, the way they “talk” to each other. Sometimes, I think of it as the colors “singing together.”
Melissa did a wonderful job. She mixed several gorgeous greens, each different, and they came together harmoniously. It was a pleasure to see the brush strokes and thick paint on the gessoboard. The little white spot on the forehead of the baby cow is a beautiful detail, shining like a star in a special painting.
painting by Melissa D’Amico Mulligan, oil on board, 12x9 inches
Teaching is really rewarding. It makes me happy to see other people falling in love with the painting experience. I look forward to seeing more of Melissa’s paintings in the future.