" 'Til the Cows Come Home"

A couple of weeks ago I got a call from my sister saying that our Mother was gravely ill. At the time, I was preparing to go photograph horses for the Spring Solstice project for the Equine Photographers Network Exhibition. Needless to say, I packed a quick bag and camera in hand, headed to Cincinnati (actually Southeast Indiana but close enough) where my Mom was brought into the ER. My thought was that if I got a chance, I would shoot horses along the way for the project but the opportunity did not present itself.

The following day, I was driving the winding roads in Southeast Indiana, taking in the beautiful scenery of the Ohio River Valley and trying to calm my Dad's obvious distress and worry about Mom. On the way back to the hospital, I saw some sows and a field full of Chickens and roosters, aglow in the late evening light. The temptation was too great! I pulled in the driveway and fortunately, the farm owners were out, granting permission for me to photograph the animals. The resulting photographs produced some excellent references.

This work is a Colored Pencil, 9 x 12, called " 'Til the Cows Come Home" He was quite a "hoot"! I am teaching a colored Pencil Class this summer and felt I should brush up on my skills and get a feel for the medium. I worked three days on this, a lot of time for the size and I probably could have worked another three days but had to get it finished for a local show at the High Road Gallery in Worthington, Ohio.

I plan on producing an oil from the same reference photos. The colors will be so much more vibrant in oils.

As a postscript to this post, my Mom is still recovering in the hospital but doing much better. She needs to regain her strength.