Finished

 Got Your Back     24" X 33"   Original Oil

 

I generally find it easy to know when water is done on a painting. It looks wet. 

However, I do find deciding when grasses are enough more difficult. 

 

Does it need one more blade here? How about a lighter one or a darker one there. I left one evening when I had finished the painting only to discover the next morning it needed more. A few more grasses here and there but something was still missing. 

 

That is when I decided what the painting needed was weight at the bottom. I started playing around with sticks and dead vegetation until I felt it had just the right amount angled in the right directions. This kind of thing is a judgement call. Another artist might feel there should have been more defined grasses, or longer or shorter dead vegetation, or different colors within the grass blades.

 

For me, the painting tells the story I wanted it to tell. The focus seems to be directed to the middle zebra head. And, I got to showcase the wonderful rusty orange colors found on plains zebra. 

 

Thanks for following along.