New Work: Battle Scarred, oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches
- Nancy Rynes
- Mar 23, 2024
- 2 min read
Oil on Canvas, 36in x 36n, framed
$5600
"Battle Scarred" is a color-and-texture-filled depiction of one of the most handsome Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep rams I have seen to date.
For me, though, the most interesting thing about this handsome lad wasn't his size, but the history of battles that he carried with him as scars on his face and horns. I wanted to call attention to this history while also creating an impactful piece that will beautify a cabin, grand mountain home, or even a farmhouse.
This ram is a true survivor of many battles. In order to call attention to those battle scars, I pushed the color and tone on this piece slightly. The chips and dents on his horns are highlighted by varying shades of blue. These blues depict the reflected light of the sky while also creating interesting forms and color combinations on his curled horns. On his face, the blues and purples of reflected light show up again, this time contrasting with the darker color of the scars on his skin.
His eyes needed to hold the viewer's attention, too, perhaps even allowing the viewer to make an emotional connection to this ram. Bighorn sheep have beautiful eyes as adults...a complex mix of umbers, russets, and golds. Here, I pushed the color to the orange just a bit and made sure that the painted edges of those eyes were sharp and crisp. These crisp edges hold the viewer's attention and allow the gaze to linger.
Bighorn rams begin going head-to-head in practice skirmishes shortly after they learn to scale the cliffs of their mountain homes. This is why, by the time they mature into adults, most rams already carry a patchwork of scars.
While they participate in skirmishes as youngsters,the battles turn serious once they are old enough to breed.
The ram I depicted in this painting was one of the older males on the mountain that day...probably 7 or 8 years old as shown by the rings on his horns. Certainly not the largest Bighorn Sheep I have ever seen, but one of the most interesting.
I hope I did justice to this battle-worn veteran of the Colorado Rocky Mountains.
A smaller study of this piece is available:
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