Prize Cow 1977

"Prize Cow" is a painting by Alex Colville, and it’s like gazing into a moment of quiet pride and connection on the farm. The palette is gentle: the soft browns of the cow, the weathered grey of the barn, all contained within a simple circle. I see a farmer with his hand resting on the broad back of his cow, a gesture full of care and respect. You can almost feel the sun-warmed hide beneath his touch. Colville’s mark-making is very precise, lending a feeling of hyper-reality. I wonder what Colville was thinking as he created this scene? It's a quiet scene, almost solemn, evoking the simple dignity of rural life. I can imagine him carefully layering the paint, building up the textures to create a feeling of solidity and presence. There is so much storytelling here, even in the simple setting and the circular framing, and the artist allows us to bring our own feelings to the scene. The image reminds me of the work of other realist painters like Andrew Wyeth, who find the extraordinary in the ordinary. Ultimately, painting is about looking, feeling, and sharing a vision, which Colville does beautifully in "Prize Cow," inviting us to reflect on our relationship with nature, animals, and the land.