I was in England a couple of years ago and we spent a good bit of time in the Cotswolds. We stayed near the Minchinhampton Common which is managed by the National Trust, and one wild feature of that area is that the cows go wherever they want. Hundreds of years ago, as the story goes, the commoners negotiated the ability to graze their cattle on the land and it’s a right that the locals have held onto since then.

There are countless footpaths in that area and I met this guy while on a walk. I painted this a few times but ended up editing out some of the other cows to make the overall composition stronger. I love the way the cow emerges from the shadows and faces the light.