Two goats on the 12 acre farm in South Carolina are named Napoleon and Oreo. Napoleon is a brown and white young goat with a great personality. In the photo he is looking through the fence, smelling, and being quite curious. I started this painting with his nose to have it be the main reference and worked the rest of the piece from there. The nose has many colors such as Winsor Blue, Burnt Umber, Burnt Sienna, Permanent Alizarin Crimson and a violet mixture. I used a pointillism technique and 4 layers of color to bring out the details of texture in his nose.
Number 4 from the Witchy Acres small works series was a joy to create. I loved focusing on the goat’s eyes and trying to get the whites perfect to show his curious demeanor. He ended up looking a little sad in the painting but animals do look a little confused when they are trying to understand something. The whites in his neck were left and later filled in with a watered down burnt umber to show the muscle definition. The lower background is filled with hay using Yellow Ochre. I decided to use green for the background at the top of the painting under the wood fence because the photo had a little green behind Napoleon’s head.
Number 5 in the series will be a painting of Oreo because the owner of the farm really loves the goat’s fur on top of his head as well as the goatee. I have not decided whether or not I will do a side profile or a frontal painting of the goat’s face. A side profile may be better to fully show his amazing hairdo. This goat is black and white and the colors will be darker and more rich than Number 4 and Napoleon. I am told this goat is very bold and in charge so the palette will fit perfectly to his personality. We shall see how he turns out!
Thank you for reading. 10% of all profits on this small works series goes back to Witchy Acres Farm in South Carolina. If you have any questions you can contact me from the website. If you are interested in any of the paintings, they can be purchased right from the website! Have a great evening.
-Karen Hilliard