Winter Wool

by | Apr 21, 2025 | Landscape & Seascape, People & Animals

The artwork is a pastoral landscape painting featuring several sheep grazing on a sunlit field. The foreground prominently displays two sheep with thick, textured wool bending down to eat the grass. Further back, additional sheep are dispersed across the field, creating depth in the composition. Tall trees with slender trunks and sparse foliage border the meadow, casting long shadows across the grass. The sky above is a clear blue, suggesting a calm and sunny day. The brushwork captures the natural light and gentle movement of the scene with a warm, earthy palette dominated by greens, browns, and soft yellows.
The artwork is a pastoral landscape painting featuring several sheep grazing on a sunlit field. The foreground prominently displays two sheep with thick, textured wool bending down to eat the grass. Further back, additional sheep are dispersed across the field, creating depth in the composition. Tall trees with slender trunks and sparse foliage border the meadow, casting long shadows across the grass. The sky above is a clear blue, suggesting a calm and sunny day. The brushwork captures the natural light and gentle movement of the scene with a warm, earthy palette dominated by greens, browns, and soft yellows.
Oil on panel / 12×16 / Available

This painting received Honorable Mention in the Arts & Cultural Council of Bucks County 2025 Spring Exhibition. Juror Matt DeProspero remarked: “I love the feeling of light and depth in this piece and the subtle use of warm and cool contrasting colors. The looseness of the brushwork perfectly and concisely portrays the subject matter.”

I drive by the Thompson-Neely House & Farmstead frequently and have always wanted to paint this pastoral setting with the flock of sheep grazing in the meadow and catching the late afternoon sunlight on their fluffy backs. “Winter Wool” captures one of these quiet moments. I used the two sheep in the foreground to draw you in and textured brushwork to suggest the softness and weight of their thick wool. Behind them, more sheep scatter across the meadow, adding a sense of space and gentle rhythm to the scene. The trees lining the edge of the field introduce vertical lines and cast subtle shadows, grounding the composition with a natural frame.

The warm earthy greens, soft yellows, and muted browns blend to evoke the subtle changes of light and shadow across the landscape, and the clear blue sky above feels open and calm, enhancing the peaceful mood. I hope “Winter Wool” offers a thoughtful pause—a small, serene slice of rural life that invites reflection.