Visiting Northern England: Final Painting #1 Completed

Nurtured
24x30", Oil on canvas
Rita Salazar Dickerson

It felt good to come full circle and achieve my goal of completing this first large piece in my series. Doing the little study was fun but there was a sense of satisfaction seeing it painted large. I wanted this painting to be big enough to give the feeling of the sheep looking almost life size, to command a presence in a room.

Stage 7: Painting in the black.

I started by painting in the black markings on the lamb. (I mixed Ultramarine Blue and Transparent Oxide Red in equal parts to make a black.)

Stage 8: Blocking in the lamb.

Next, I blocked in the lamb's body with a flat brush. With this under painting still wet, I then began applying the paint, wet-on-wet (alla prima) with a palette knife.

While I worked, I kept my little 8x10" study close by using it as a reference for color and technique. It was  enjoyable using generous amounts of paint mixed with a paint medium, Neo Megilp; the paint had the consistency of mayonnaise -  smooth, silky and spreadable.

And now it is time to move on to the next large piece in my series. I think it will be a landscape.