David Lawruk
South Australia, Australia,
Finalist
My Inspiration
The landscape of the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia has often inspired me to paint. I came across this scene as I was driving past Middleton on the way to the river town of Goolwa and immediately stopped on the roadside to make a few quick gesture sketches for future reference. I was fascinated by the way the starlings were following the small flock of sheep and how they took advantage of the situation by feeding off the insects the sheep disturbed in the grass as they walked. You can see in the painting these birds will readily perch on a sheep and pick off various insects and parasites in search of an easy meal. A lone magpie lark in the foreground of the painting has much the same intent as the starlings but without the same bravado.
My Design Strategy
From an artistic perspective, I think it was the clear afternoon light on the sheep emanating from the left side of the painting that convinced me to tackle this difficult subject. There are many strong alternating light and dark tonal contrasts on the bodies of the sheep and some lovely areas of warm reflected light bouncing off the dry yellow grass. In many instances, sheep are placed in a landscape painting as an addition to give the picture more life and strengthen the composition. I saw this as an opportunity to make the sheep the focal point and paint them with all the care and respect I could manage, just as a wildlife artist would approach a more exotic species. To guide the viewer’s eye through the painting I created a zigzag formation by visually connecting the distant sheep with the background trees, eventually leading to the blue hills in the far distance.
My Working Process
I quickly washed in the major elements of the entire painting to get a feel for colour and composition. When satisfied, I began to over paint, beginning first with the sky and progressively moving forward down the picture. It occurred to me the rounded shapes of the sheep could be echoed in the landscape. This can be seen in elements of the trees and clouds. I felt this helped to unify the overall design. I spent many hours painting and re-painting the sheep and starlings to get them just as I wanted, alternating from thin washes to opaque applications of paint. I waited until the very end to place the strongest white highlights on the sheep and really give the painting some sparkle.
Contact Details
dlawruk@bigpond.com