Angus Calf - Finally Final!

Black Angus Calf - gouache

I wasn't really happy with the background of the previous photo so I changed it again!  I'll still let it marinate a bit before varnishing but I think this is it although I may add some darker color in the corners.  This being gouache, any paint put on top of paint already there will soften that paint layer and blend into it so I'm naturally a bit reluctant to do any more to it.  We'll see.

Backgrounds are the bane of artists and one fellow artist said she switched to painting landscapes just to avoid them!  I don't think I'm quite ready to do that but backgrounds certainly are a PITA!

3/25/14  Hi all!  I've come back a day later to say that I added some darker color to the corners which made the background pop more.  While I did like the blue background, I thought it was too bright and intense and overshadowed the calf.  This gold background makes the painting look a bit flat in this photo but looks much better in real life.  It complements the blue in the calf (which also doesn't show well here) and I think the painting is improved.