Haven't You Always Wanted a Cow Table?

A friend of mine dropped off this table at my house a few weeks ago.  She knows that I've been painting furniture, and donated this stained but beautiful coffee table to the cause.

It took me a while to figure out what to do with it, which was fine because I've had a few projects to finish up in the meantime.  I just left the table in my studio, and had no choice but to look at it all day while working on other projects.  Also, the studio is our entry way to the house from the garage, so I pass through it multiple times a day.

While looking at it kind of intently the other day, I noticed some curvy details beneath the tabletop.  At first I thought, "I wonder if I can get rid of those?"  and then, all at once, I saw that they were...wait for it...udders!!! As in, COW udders.  Then, I noticed the feet were hooves. Obviously.  

Once I saw it, I could not unsee it.  Did I need a cow table? of course not.  Did I know anyone who wanted a cow table?  I didn't think so.

Well, as it happens, my 9 year old son is obsessed with cows.  As soon as I told him my idea, he FREAKED OUT.  So now, I am making him a cow table.  For his bedroom.  I don't think he has space for it, but there was no talking him out of it.  So, a cow table. For his bedroom.  

My first step was to prime the table.  I use  Bulls Eye 1-2-3 primer which means I don't even have to sand the shiny varnish off the table.  I just paint one coat right on.  I haven't done this before, but now that I know about it, I'm never sanding another piece of furniture before painting again!

Once the primer was dry, I drew the outline of the cow. The only challenging part here was the face.  I looked up some great cow pictures and tried to get the "essence" of the cow face.  The body was just random black splotches, so that was no big deal.

 I used Titanium White Liquitex acrylic paint for the body, and a mix of white and pink for the nose and the udders. Seriously, I think those udders are the best part!

Then I filled in the spots and the face with a mix of ultramarine blue, dioxanne purple and mars black Liquitex Paints (This is my standard mix for painting dark areas-- I never use a flat black). My son thought the cow should be wearing gym shoes, which I thought was awesome, so, per his request, I painted each foot a different color (red, green, yellow and blue).

I added another layer of paint to make the colors richer and to clean up the messy spots.  I also added laces to the shoes.

I protected the cow table with Parks Super Glaze Epoxy to make sure that it will be protected and can be used and therefore cleaned up.  This is especially important since it will most likely be living in my son's bedroom, and he is not particularly neat or careful.

Truthfully, I really want the cow to live in our playroom (my favorite room in the house). Here are a few a pics of it there:

But Sam wanted none of that:  

So we put it up in his room:

I guess its like he has his very own cow guard.  Or pet cow.  Or something.

What do you think? Do you need a cow table in your house?