The Finished Painting

Higher Ground

Original Oil by Linda Besse

10" X 17.5"

I didn’t get around to taking photos of this painting in stages, but hopefully, I can give you a feeling of some of the decisions which went into the final piece.

First off, I began painting the sky. After numerous renderings similar to the sky in the mountain reference photo in the previous blog, it became clear that the sky needed to be simplified. There would be plenty of "busyness" in the painting and the sky did not need to compete for attention.

The near left mountain in the photo is a soft yellow ochre which just didn't work. Once I tried a purple tone, a feeling of distance began to emerge.

I decided to go with 6 sheep. Yes, there were only 5 in real life, but I liked the idea of 5 and one. The group of 3 sheep in the previous blog photo inspired the piece. Something intrigued me about the right most bighorn looking back. He added a story. So, I started with those 3 and then placed the others to round out the composition.

Originally I had more snow in the lower right corner of the painting. It made that corner too white and distracted from the sheep. Considering that the bighorns are roughly at the same elevation as the near purple hillside, less snow works from a realist point of view. And, I think, from an artist’s point of view.

I scanned this painting before I varnished. The varnish will intensify the darks which tend to dry a little dull because they contain VanDyke Brown in the mixture. Fortunately, the varnish I use does not yellow so the snow will stay crisp.

Last step, choosing a frame. I’ll probably head into town next week and spend some time at my framer’s looking for just the right frame and liner to enhance the painting. The right frame will make a painting sing, while a poor choice or even a boring frame will diminish the piece.