Black and Brown Cows amidst the Trees
2012, Oil on Linen

“This painting depicts red and black cows and calves casually strolling through the trees. It’s a summer day, and the warm sunlight makes the cows come to life. The cool blue-black gleam of the darker cows contrasts with the warmer red of the others. This is a slow-moving painting. None of these cows are rushed or hurried on this warm summer day. Cattle have a sort of comfortable rhythm to their movements. These animals are in their own world, interacting with each other. For this particular painting, I went up to watch this herd on a hill at a good distance. As I was watching them, I noticed some of the cows intently watching me. All of a sudden, like some magic signal, four of them came down the hill in unison to size me up at a fixed distance.  Eventually the cows must have recognized that I didn’t quite belong, and returned to their herd. It was as if each of us knew something about the other. For a moment we felt a sense of our different language, but still understood each other.”