study for future painting "King of the Hill"

King of the Hill, study, oil/panel, 12X12

This is a study I did for a painting I'm beginning work on called "King of the Hill". The larger more ambitious painting is being done for a fall auction and won't be available until then. So, why do this painting? Artists who do studies have lots of reasons for why they do them. I did this small 12X12 painting for a number of reasons. First, I wanted to work out the general sunlight value for this work. I wanted to make sure I had gotten the illusion of sunlight right before starting on the bigger work. Also, this longhorn was very mottled and confusing in places in the original photo I took. This gave me the opportunity to simplify the effect and get it right before tackling the much larger version. I've struggled in the past with painting a dog that was mottled, and I wasn't looking forward to a repeat of that, yikes! Another reason to do this version was to workout the line of rocks and path leading your eye to the focal point. My goal was to put something in that wasn't too obvious or overwhelming. I think I ended up with a nice balance. And finally, I wanted to have something for the Texas Art Gallery Fixed Price Draw coming up in May. These paintings are generally smaller, so this painting will work well for that. Besides, Texas loves their longhorns. So do I. You know what I mean if you've ever had the opportunity to see a herd of them in the wild. They are impressive. This study is just a small portion of what the larger version will be. That one will have a small herd tucked in the grass lower on the hillside, and of course much more landscape. The setting is the rolling hills of central Texas, otherwise known as the Texas Hill Country. For me, it's one of the most beautiful places in the United States.

Thanks for looking, Steve