Technicolor Cows

Technicolor Cows is a series of watercolor paintings that depict the soulfulness of a lone creature with a contemporary twist. These are powerful animals yet, in their leisure in the pasture, they are languid—a contradiction that isn’t often considered. In the dead-on gaze of a longhorn steer, the question seems poised: “What is your answer to life?” They seem to know the answers but aren’t sharing them with us. And we, secure in our “higher intelligence” know what’s best for all. The paintings say “Look back to nature for the answers rather than be so sure we have them.” In the words of Friedrick Nietzsche: “Cows sometimes wear an expression resembling wonderment arrested on its way to becoming a question.” What is the wonderment? What is the question?

The first step of this process is a “watercolor pour”-- permitting a spontaneous reaction to the color as it is set down on paper.  Using watercolor crayons along with negative painting draws the subject off of the paper.  Using the watercolor crayons on top of a pour, the colors layer on top of one another in an ever changing dimension.  The layering of the crayon, pour and negative painting adds a depth to the visual work that creates excitement.