Monday's agriculture website: Three kids and lots of pigs

Wonder what it's like living on a pig farm? Ever wonder what it's like living on a pig farm and raising three kids? Then come on over to Three Kids and lots of pigs to meet Heather Hill, also known as @proudporkmom on Twitter. Heather shares pictures and videos of what it's like to raise hogs and a family in Indiana. She is also generous in sharing her favorite recipes and giving us the "insider tour" on what it's like raising pigs. Heather also uploads short videos to give readers a feel for what her days are like.

Interview with Kevin Webster - Other interests

What else do you do besides your art?

I work full time as a police dispatcher and I love to travel.

Picture credit: "The Look", oil on masonite panel

Click here to learn more about this beef cattle painting

Friday's art website: art terms defined

As with any industry, there is a ton of lingo and jargon that go along with art. It can be a bit overwhelming to know all the words and definitions that define it. This link for Art Terms Defined, by Baxter Frameworks, defines many of the art terms you might come across. This page is a great resource!

Interview with Kevin Webster - Advice to artists

What advice to you have for aspiring artists?

Practice everyday. Paint something everyday, even if it is a small painting, to hone your skills.

Photo credit: "Red Ears", oil on masonite panel

Click here to learn more about this beef cattle painting

Cow artist on magazine cover

Cow Art and More artist Robin Maria Pedrero has artwork featured on the January 2011 issue of Winter Park magazine. Robin also has additional paintings featured inside the magazine on a three page spread beginning on page 36. While her work in the magazine does not include cows, the beauty of her work is still an inspiration. View the January issue of the magazine online here.

Interview with Kevin Webster - Future plans

What would you like to do more of in the future?

Brahma bulls and bison.

Picture credit: "Longhorn", oil on masonite panel

Click here to learn more about this Longhorn cattle painting

Monday's agriculture article: The Wife of a Dairyman

Ever curious what life is like for the wives and moms on a dairy farm? Look no further than the blog written by California dairy farm wife Nancy Grossi. Her blog, The Wife of a Dairyman, chronicles the farm and personal life of her family and its farm. Nancy shares lots of recipes, pictures of farm life, tips for moms, and most importantly, her heartfelt views on providing food for families. Nancy blogs frequently and is very good at interacting and answering questions from readers.

Interview with Kevin Webster - Do you make mistakes?

Do you ever have goof ups or work you don’t like?

Yes. I even have a collection called the Kevin Webster unfinished art gallery.

Friday's art website - Free Art Lessons Online

Are you a budding artist looking to learn some art skills? Creative Spotlite offers free art lessons online in painting, pastels, photography, and colored pencil techniques. While the online tutorials aren't very detailed, they certainly are a great way for someone to get an initial exposure and some basic skills. The website also includes some books and paid art lesson links for those wanting to expand their art abilities.

Interview with Kevin Webster - How much time to finish a painting?

How long does it take you to get an average creation?

It all depends on the composition. Most of my time is spent in creating the right composition. Once that is done I can paint a small piece in 2 or 3 hours, medium sized works about 1 or 2 days and a larger painting can take up to 40 hours.

What would you like to know about Cow Art and More

What questions do you have for us? What would you like to know? Techniques? The business inner workings? How do I get a job at Cow Art and More? List your questions and comments here and we will answer questions in future posts!

Interview with Kevin Webster - Painting farm animals

How did you get interested in creating art of farm animals?

I have always loved wildlife and sporting art but began painting professionally as an Army Artist. After I retired from the Army in 2004, I decided to start painting wildlife. The first animals I painted were cattle. I have always found them to be an interesting subject matter. I love painting the noses and enjoy capturing their different expressions.

Photo credit: "Grazer", oil masonite panel

Click here to learn more about this Longhorn cattle painting

Monday's agriculture article: Grow Better Veggies

In the quest for finding information on how to grow a winter garden, I found the Grow Better Veggies blog, written by Cynthia Sandberg. I was impressed the amount of information she shares on her site and found it to include details on a variety of different topics, especially year round vegetable gardening. Her farm, Love Apple Farm (@loveapplefarm) provides produce for a local restaurant, and Cynthia also conducts workshops for small children to teach them more about food and farming.

Interview with Kevin Webster - How do you decide what to paint?

How do you decide what to paint?

I look for animals that will make an interesting composition. I believe that less is more in a painting and I find interest in capturing shadows in a painting.

Picture credit: "Approaching Storm", oil on masonite panel

Click here to learn more about this beef cattle painting

Friday's art article - Art appraisals and art prices

Have a piece of art you are curious as to the value of? The art appraisal tool at Find Art Info allows users to find the value of your fine art by comparing it with recent auction prices of similar pieces. Visitors can find the latest hammer prices on art from auction houses worldwide, plus additional information about the artwork. Find Art info also compares user inputs to information on 2,255,350 pieces of art sold over the last couple of years. The database also currently contains 138,441 signatures and 1,137,223 photos of artwork.

Interview with Kevin Webster - Where did you learn your technique?

Where did you learn your technique?

Practice, experimentation and studying the styles and techniques of other artists.

What's up for Cow Art and More in 2011?

Cow Art and More has a few projects we're working on that we don't mind sharing with you:

We will be doing our first LIVE event at the National Holstein Convention, Richmond, Virginia, June 22 to 25. The art you see on our website will be there as a part of the trade show exhibition area and will be for sale. Be sure to sign up for our email list to be notified of show details closer to the event.

Cow Art and More continues to expand its custom art offerings. We have several businesses and farms we are working with to create custom art pieces to help promote their operations. We are also helping some non-profit groups with their fundraising activities by having customizable art for them as well.

We are waiting with anticipation for upgrades from our outside technology firm to our shopping cart system to make it even easier for patrons to buy from us. We hope to have these done and in place by early spring.

What else would you like to see us work on?

Interview with Kevin Webster - Where do you get your inspiration?

Where do you get your inspiration?

My greatest inspiration comes from my grandfather but I have also been inspired by the work of wildlife artists Bob Kuhn, Ken Carlson and Luke Frazier.

Picture credit: "A Shoulder to Lean on", oil on panel

Click here to learn more about this beef cattle painting

Monday's agriculture article: Guest post by Ryan Goodman

*Every Monday, blog author Kathy Swift share an agricultural website or article of interest with readers.  Today is a guest post written by Ryan Goodman (@AR_ranchhand)*

Here we go, it’s that time of year where we all look back on the year that has passed and look at what is to come. It has been a busy year for me. One highlight of my year is becoming more active in social media and online communications for Agriculture. Alongside staying active on Facebook and Twitter, I started a new blog, Agriculture Proud, and if you had told me the site would have over 4,000 followers on a Facebook group after only seven months, I would have laughed. The result, I have realized the power of social media in Agriculture.

Since Kathy asked me to share my favorite Ag websites, I have looked back and came up with my Top Five list, in no particular order.

·         AgChat Foundation – This organization and its accompanying weekly chat on Twitter has opened many doors for me. After joining the conversation on Tuesday nights, I have made connections with farmers, ranchers, Agriculturalists, and consumers across the States and in several different countries.

·         Beef Magazine – This website and associated e-newsletters keeps me up-to-date on current industry news, headlines, and activity. The BEEF Daily blog always offers an interesting perspective and comment on Beef and Food related topics.

·         Ag- A Colorful Adventure – Janice may love cotton, and social media may be part of her job description, but this lady always knows how to bring something new to the table. I often catch myself laughing out loud at some of her posts, but she often has something new to teach me in her posts about cotton, social media, or just loving agriculture in general.

·         Journal of Animal Science – If this makes me an Ag Nerd, so be it. I often catch myself looking for facts, figures, and ideas in the articles of this Journal. True, it is animal scientists writing scientific articles on an academic level, but I find the results useful and interesting. And it never hurts to be up-to-date on the latest ideas in the science of animal production.

·         @AgBlogFeed and #AgBlog – This feed and tag have probably become my favorite follows on Twitter. A number of people promote their Agriculture related blog posts with this tag and I have found a great number of new blogs and contacts with this feed.

Thanks Kathy for allowing me to contribute to your blog, and for your recent contribution to my Ag-Thankful post series. (I would add that series of guest posts to my list of favorites, but I do not think that would be allowed.) There are so many more great sites I left out, but I think this gives a decent over-view of my favorites.

Interview with Kevin Webster - What is your technique?

What is your technique?

Realistic. My earlier more photo realistic paintings have now given way to a more loose and diffused brush stroke.

Picture credit:  "Runt", oil on panel

Click here to learn more about this pig painting

Video montage of the paintings of Claude Monet

Impressionist Claude Monet is one of my favorite painters. His impressionist style at the end of the 19th century was scandalous by the standards of the day. Little did everyone know just how ahead of his time he really was. Enjoy this short video of several of his many works.

Interview with Kevin Webster - How did you get started?

How did you get started?

My grandfather. He was an artist and he is the one who taught me the basics of painting. I could not have asked for a better teacher. After all, he learned to paint from one of America's greatest artists, Charles M. Russell.

Picture credit:  "Blue on a Sunny Day", oil on canvas

Click here to learn more about this beef cow painting

Book signing with artist Valerie D'Ortona

Meet Cow Art and More artist Valerie D'Ortona at one of the following book signing events in Gainesville, Florida:

Books Inc
505 NW 13th St.
Friday, Jan. 7
5 to 7 PM

Santa Fe College
Library Lobby
NW Campus
3000 NW 83rd St.
Monday, Feb. 14
1:30 to 3:30 PM

Valerie will be signing her book, Big T's Heart's in Me! , which describes, in artistic format, the life and death of her son Tony and fulfilling his final wish to be an organ donor.

Interview with Kevin Webster - Why do you paint?

Why do you paint?

Painting has always been a passion of mine. Now I find it relaxing to put on canvas the images I see in my mind's eye.

Picture credit:  "Approaching storm", oil on masonite panel

Click here to learn more about this beef cattle painting

Large animal veterinary topics

Those of you who are regular followers to the blog know that I post an agricultural website or article of interest every Monday. Many of you also know I'm a cattle veterinarian. I don't write about that topic on this blog, but I have and am happy to guest post on other blogs. For today's ag related post, I am sharing links to other blog posts I have written about agriculture and veterinary medicine in 2010. (P.S. If you would like me to do a guest post on your blog, drop me an email to info@cowartandmore.com)

Sometimes you have to be mental to do this job

Kathy is Ag Thankful

Veterinarian's Response to Animal Abuse

Animals, Diseases, and America's Well Being

This week in Ag - What is an agnerd?

What do cows eat and why?

January Featured artist: oil painter Kevin Webster

The featured artist for January is oil painter Kevin Webster. Kevin is a retired U.S. Army artist that now enjoys painting portraits of the livestock and wildlife around his Alabama home. Kevin also makes it a goal to paint one new picture a day, in an effort to improve on his skills and expand his portfolio. Follow the blog this month as Kevin answers a series of questions about his art, techniques and personal life.

View all of Kevin's work on the Cow Art and More specials page. Purchase any of his paintings this month and receive free shipping.

Blessings and wishes for a Happy New Year

As we take the time to reflect and celebrate on the past year's accomplishments, we are most proud of the fact that YOU are a part of the Cow Art and More family. Thank you for including us and our art in your homes, businesses, and personal lives. We are truly grateful and look forward to a exciting and prosperous new year.

All the best to you and your family!