Cows & Bulls Wall Art

Cows and Bulls Wall Art: Portrait or Panorama

Nearly every strong image in this category is either an upright portrait or a wide landscape, and the two are not interchangeable. A single animal facing the camera is built vertically: the face fills the top, the chest and shoulders taper away below, and a tall frame follows that shape without wasting anything. A herd in a field is horizontal by nature, and cropping it upright means throwing away the grass, the hedge line and the weather that made it worth looking at. Decide which one your wall wants before you fall for a particular animal.

The face is the reason this subject sells at all. Long lashes, a wet nose, a fringe hanging over one eye, an expression that looks unnervingly like judgement — these animals photograph with more character than most wildlife. Weak examples are shot from too far away or side on, so the head becomes a shape rather than a face. If the eyes are not readable, look at something else.

Markings decide how graphic the piece turns out. Black and white patches give you a hard, high-contrast image that behaves almost like a poster and holds a modern kitchen easily. A shaggy ginger coat gives you warmth and texture, closer to a painting in feel, and pairs better with wood, cream and worn stone.

Kitchens and dining rooms take this subject best, partly because the scale of a big head suits a room people stand up in. There is a wry consideration if you are a committed carnivore and the picture faces the table, and only you can judge how much that will bother you.

When you hang a portrait in a dining room, drop it lower than you would elsewhere. Everyone in that room is seated, and an animal looking down at your guests over dinner is a stranger sensation than one meeting them across the table.