Valley cow by Julia Benning

I think she's lovely - the wet muzzle and her eyes. It's worked very well. Lovely colours.

I think she's lovely trouble is the gallery isn't showing me the full painting so I can't comment on the muzzle but I just love the colour of her coat and her eyes are well cow eyes beautiful

Well there you go leave a comment and then I get the whole picture...a beautiful muzzle and I love her eyelashes too

Its a lovely painting of a favourite subject as I work in agricultural research and am surrounded by hundreds of cattle - they are great at posing for photos as they are so nosy - really like this one

Thank you everyone. I must say I love watching the cows as I pass in the mornings and I really enjoyed painting this. They have a manger which is in the middle of the field and I have yet to get a photo of them when they are all gathered round it. When I have my camera with me they are elsewhere and when I don't, then they are feeding from it! Obviously they don't want to be photographed while eating!

I doubt that they're that sensitive - having known a cowman, who regularly got "Christened" by them in the milking parlour, and swore they did it deliberately. However, this is a sensitive painting, and you've conveyed the sheer size of the animals, that always makes me wonder why they put up with humans doing what they do to them.... can't milk themselves, I suppose!

Your cow definitely stands out. I love the looseness of this watercolour - the eyes have it!

This is a superb painting Julia. I simply love the nose and agree with everything said!

PS; You're really getting a mastery of this technique...good for you!

Julia, you have so much talent, but I don't think you know how good you are. The subtlety of the colours and washes you have used is amazing - the background is perfect as well. Agree with Ruth that you are really getting to grips with this style and it suits you. I am bowled over by this painting - they just keep getting better and better. I just keep thinking back to our classes with Sheila and how far you have come in such a short time. Good on you!