MELANCHOLY II

I just finished this speckled-colored longhorn steer, which I will now put away for a week or two before I declare I don’t need to do anymore nick picking and sign it. Actually, this painting was tougher to paint than the “right-turned” that I talked about a couple of weeks ago and finished. I had to really search my “brain bank” to lay out the dewlap – the excess fold of skin under the chin and down the chest, because the photo I took a few years ago just wasn’t clear enough to capture any detail. You might ask why do longhorn cattle have dewlaps. The loose skin under the chin, neck and front of the chest allows the body temperature to decrease. Fortunately, I know how these bovine are put together, so even though I struggled, I think I finally captured what I needed to finish this painting. Also, in the original photo, this steer had his right eye lazily half shut, so I had to sketch out many eyes open at different angles, until I came up with the “right” look for the eye. That took FOREVER!!!!!!!