QAS January 2011 demonstration painting

Below is the reference photo used for the January 2011 Sunday class.  This was taken recently near Benalla when plenty of feed was about.  The cattle are not taking advantage of the ''long paddock'' but being moved along by the drovers also in the photo.  The photo has ingredients of distance, long shadows, action figures and the chiaroscuro effect of the foreground shadow. 

I've moved the Herfords around to create the composition.  Some masking is used on the sunlit cows, the drovers are kept in the shadow.

First wash creates warms especially from the right from where the light is cast.

The distant trees and foliage is dropped in wet on wet with more dry edge strokes towards the near.

Some light ground shapes are loosely painted.

A few darks are added to the foliage shapes to futher express their closeness and cast shadows.

Long shadows painted in varying mixture of cerulean blue and crimson. Some warms are dropped into the shadow strokes. 

Masking fluid finally removed and shadowed areas of white hide painted with a touch of warms added to reflected light on underbelly

Pale reddish coloured lights painted on the cows then immediately followed with dark burnt sienna and cobalt mixture 

Below is the paiinting with the edge tape removed and below that  is the cropped version.  I've left out the drovers even though they were drawn in intially - thought the openness of the road was attractive.   With the use of a warmer colour scheme compared to the reference photo also  thought the subject more deserving of the title '' Cows in the Long Paddock'' (looking for a feed).