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.

Visiting Northern England: Final Painting #1/Stages 3-6

Stage 3: Blocking in the ewe's body.

It felt good to get back to painting. I started by blocking in the major shapes and colors of the ewe's body with a No.8 flat brush.

These are the two palette knives I used.

And then it was time to pull out my palette knives to add the wool texture.

Stage 4: Adding texture to the neck with a palette knife.

I started with the ewe's neck using my smaller knife.

Stage 5: The ewe's body.

At this point I was squeezing out generous amounts of oil paint onto my palette as I worked on her round, wooly body with the larger knife.

Stage 6: Legs and background.

I worked in the green background as I went to keep my edges varied and fresh. Her legs were a combination of brush and palette knife.

And now, its time to move on to her little lamb.

Waldo Canyon Fire

I was planning on painting last Tuesday, the 26th of June. Within a matter of minutes my plans changed.

My sister, Joan, who lives less than a mile away, called frantically saying, " I can see flames from our deck!" We had been watching the fire since it had started just a few days before, never suspecting it would come this close. In disbelief I told her we would be right over. As I grabbed my camera, my husband Robert ran out the front door and yelled, "Rita!!! Come and look! We don't need to go to Joan's to see the flames!"

This was the view from the front yard of our home. The Waldo Canyon Fire had suddenly grown into a horrible monster, raging over the foothills and racing toward us.

I looked up at the sky and felt the heat waves from the fire pressing down on me. It was time to flee.

Today, the fire is at 45% containment, the evacuation for our neighborhood has ended and yesterday we were allowed back into our home. My painting of the ewe and her lamb sat untouched on my easel; the paints and brushes were just as I had left them. It felt strange that everything seemed the same though I know it never will be. There is a sense of relief for me, mixed with sadness for those who were not as fortunate as we were and a knowledge that many will not be able to return to their homes because they are no longer there.

With a heavy heart I begin painting again today - feeling so blessed that I can.

Visiting Northern England Series: Final Painting #1

After completing 21 small studies of my "Visiting Northern England" Series, I am ready to move on and begin painting the larger versions of my favorites. Choosing this first one was simply on impulse; when I painted it as an 8x10" I could hardly wait to see it big. I chose a 24x30" canvas which feels like a good size.
Since I have already figured out the composition, colors of paint and how I want to approach this piece, I decided to paint wet-on-wet, completing one section at a time, starting with the ewe's face.