Visiting North Yorkshire: Final Painting #5

Confident
Oil on canvas, 24x30"
Rita Salazar Dickerson

I have never thought about a sheep looking confident before, but this one looked like she really had it together.

There was something about the way she stood and gazed at me with her dark eyes.

Her striking dark face and legs were the perfect contrast to her luxurious, wool coat and white muzzle.



The sheep's horns added movement and texture.

Since I was working wet-on-wet I wanted to complete the face and horns during the first session.

Using my color study as a guide, I knew which colors to mix for blocking in the entire painting.

I liked this zigzag effect that the stone fences created in the composition.

Once the painting is completely blocked in I can usually tell whether I am going to like it or not. I was so excited to mix large amounts of paint and start completing the entire piece.

The nice thing about painting a small study first is that I have given myself time to think about the composition and decide what I like about it and what I would like to change in the final piece. In this instance, I realized I wanted the focus to be on the sheep and took out much of the background.