Ewe Too?

Thick with a winter coat and ready for sheering, these two ewes on Parrish Place Farm seemed happy to show off their fluffy wool in the soft glow of the morning sun.  I really wanted to wiggle my fingers into their deep wool!

I loved the composition of my original photograph -- the overlapping sheep (one grazing and one gazing), the slight incline of the field, and the delicate lifting of the front sheep's leg.  But the thing I was most eager to capture was the soft morning light that caressed their form.

To achieve the warm glow, I first painted the whole scene with varying values of transparent orange, mixed with transparent blue for the darker areas.  You can see the orange peeking through, even in the grass, to unify the scene.  The wool is more thickly painted with opaque paints, saving the lightest value for the glowing wool around the front sheep's face.  

She seemed a bit quizzical, so I decided she must be asking, "Ewe too?" :)

 Ewe Too?  Sold

8x10 Oil