BARDLEDOO #4 of 50

8x8 oil on canvas panel

#4 in the 50/50 series is Bardledoo, a sweet little baby who had a very, very short life. Bardledoo died last month of an unknown virus, but lived life to the fullest in her 4 short months as a cattle working dog and a great buddy to a family of longhorn ranchers. As a cattle dog in training, one of her favorite things was to play with the baby calves. She was particular about people, but was loyal to her favorite person her dad, Mark. Bardledoo's fav foods consisted of june bugs and ice cubes, yum, yum!

LONGHORN RANCHER by Angela Elledge

8x8 oil on canvas panel
I met Kermit several years ago while visiting home one summer. My brother had kept a newspaper article for me about a man who had left his successful career to return home to SW Louisiana and begin a career as a longhorn cattleman. I boldly called him and explained that I was interested in photographing his longhorn cattle for future paintings. We had 3 cameras working and took well over 800 photos...click and shoot, edit later...what did we do before digital photography? Not only did I leave Kermit's ranch with an abundance of material for paintings, but he would not let us leave without a huge bag filled with an assortment of longhorn steaks! If you've never been to Louisiana, you're missing out on meeting some of the kindest people around.

And speaking of kind people, that just happens to be all of you, too. Thank you so much for your comments and e-mails! This was specifically painted for this month's challenge, Cowboy Up, at Some Texas Artists Like to Paint, another group of really kind folks.

LONGHORN LADY

8x8 oil on board nfs
It's my turn to paint in Sheila Tajima's book for The Flying Moleskins and Sheila has requested we paint something that we love, for me that would be cows! I have always loved cows, but it was not until we moved to Texas that I fully appreciated longhorns. Of all the different cattle breeds, the longhorn breed is one of my favorites; they are massive in size and so elegant with their huge set of horns, to see them up close and in person is amazing. Thank you for visiting and please visit here to read more about this particular longhorn lady.