GRIZZLY COOLING OFF

I finally finished this young grizzly cooling off in the summer heat. He was definitely fun to paint. I say I am finished, but looking at him, I could highlight a little of his fur on the left side of the painting, and a little more highlight on his nose, as well as the concrete that is in front of his paws. Just a tad!!!

On to the next paintings I have blocked in - a black baldy National Finals Rodeo (NFR) bull and a Brahman-cross NFR bull. I found these magnificent bulls at New Mexico State University grounds where the rodeo stock is held. A little something about the black baldy is that they are often quoted as being America’s most favored “cow”, i.e., bovine. They are amazingly healthy due to the hybrid vigor for being the main reason for crossing the two breeds. They have earned the reputation of being healthier than either purebred cattle or more nondescript crosses. I will talk a little more about the gentleman on the left next week.

Last, but not least, is our latest rescue pup of almost 4 months now, Charley, a five-year old Bouvier des Flandres and standard poodle cross. We are considered foster failures, because we decided after a week that Charley wasn’t going anywhere. Not only being a spectacularly smart pup and charming his way into our hearts, we were reasonably sure he would not get adopted because of his special needs, i.e., he has IBS (typical of Bouviers) and also a vitamin B deficiency, requiring monthly shots the rest of his life.