Meet Matilda~ My cow painting

This is her big debut!  Matilda the cow.  When I went up one weekend this winter to study painting with my friend in Boston, I told her I really wanted to paint a cow, and I wanted her to teach me how to paint more quickly. After the original sketch, I began painting in my typical meticulous way.  After what seemed like only a few seconds, she said, "Move on! Paint a different part!"  She had me flying all over the canvas, and all I could think was, "This is going to be a disaster.  It won't even look like a cow!"...

And yet, when I finished and stepped back a little to looked at the canvas, this is what I saw!

Our family went out to eat after leaving our friends' house, and I carried her with me to the restaurant, just to sit and stare at her in the booth.  I was surprised at the transformation.  I studied it all evening, still in awe about what had transpired!  The more I looked at her, the more I loved her.

Friends and family have been wanting copies, so I have begun reproducing Matilda as a print mounted on canvas.  I hand paint brush strokes over the print to mimic the look of an original oil painting.  Matilda is acrylic, but I love the look of oil, so I am happy that the reproduction looks like an oil painting.  I hope to list her today in my etsy shop.  I have already sold two, and have another on reserve.  :)

The hardest part is deciding where to put her!