The Shepherd's Croft

I just love the light in this. Anything with sheep in gets my vote and I love ivy on stone walls. Diana

Beautiful light in this painting Wib. I would think it would have been a harsh life - being out in all weathers.

Phenomenal sky and great detail. Love the old ruin, a fantastic painting Wib.

The light is beautifully painted.

Amazing light

Thank you Diana, Adele, Carole, Henry and Peter. The use of this particular kind of light was a bit of an experiment. I was looking at some of the old masters of landscape and was trying my chances at emulating a little of their technique.

The first thing that struck me about this Wib was the resemblance of the paintings done by W. Watson. His favourite subjects were sheep and Highland cattle in a Highland setting, with such powerful and striking skies like this. I lived in a croft house once and the very small window at the top of the gable was and is called 'the owl' window. All crofts were only a single storey and the crofters would lay out their harvest of oats etc in the roof space to dry, the small window gave owls access to keep the rodents population down so saving their crops. Just a bit of useless information. lol It's a beautiful painting Wib.

Fiona, thank you ever so much for your information on croft houses. I had no idea that the small window at the top was called an "owl" window nor the reason why. This is really great stuff and I truly appreciate your sharing it.

Astounding light and beauty in this wonderful painting Wib

Thank you, Russell - much appreciated!

Wib, you've created an eerie, interesting atmosphere with that golden glow. And Fiona, that's absolutely fascinating about the owl window.

Very atmospheric. I'd love to know how this was done. Is it a traditional oil painting or digital painting based on a photograph?