plate no. 1740

Le Retour Du Troupeau

oil, canvasImpressionismgenre paintingsheepshepherdessdogfieldskyfence

some experience helpful

Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in atmospheric perspective and rendering realistic textures, particularly the wool of the sheep. It also provides practice in depicting figures in a landscape setting.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 15 hrs

approach — 8 steps

step 01
Sketch the basic composition, focusing on the placement of the shepherdess, sheep, dog, and fence.
step 02
Establish the background sky and distant landscape with thin washes of color.
step 03
Block in the general shapes and values of the sheep, paying attention to their overlapping forms.
step 04
Add details to the shepherdess, including her clothing and facial features.
step 05
Refine the details of the sheep, adding texture to their wool with short, broken brushstrokes.
step 06
Paint the dog, capturing its form and texture.
step 07
Add details to the fence and foreground vegetation.
step 08
Adjust values and colors as needed to create a sense of depth and atmosphere.

color palette

primary · raw umber · titanium white · ivory black

secondary · yellow ochre · Prussian blue · burnt sienna

Achieve the muted tones by mixing the primary colors with each other and with white. Use yellow ochre to warm up the earth tones and Prussian blue to cool them down. Mix white with small amounts of raw umber and burnt sienna for the sheep's wool.

techniques

·scumbling
·dry brushing
·atmospheric perspective
·layering
·broken color

common pitfalls

→Overworking the details and losing the overall impressionistic feel.
→Making the sheep too uniform and lacking individual character.
→Failing to create a sense of depth and atmosphere.
→Using colors that are too bright or saturated.

materials

surface · stretched canvas

required

·stretched canvas 18x24
·oil paints (raw umber, titanium white, ivory black, yellow ochre, Prussian blue, burnt sienna)
·round brushes (sizes 2, 4, 6)
·flat brushes (sizes 4, 8)
·linseed oil
·turpentine or odorless mineral spirits
·palette
·palette knife