Deer at Wakerley Wood

Oil on canvas, 18 x 26 inches. 

Started this one a year ago and put it in the back of the studio, so dug it out and finished it. Woods are always great subjects to paint, and none more so than at the end of Winter, with a touch of frost on the fallen leaves, and arays of sunlight catching the tussocks and old stumps. I added the Deer for a bit of life and focal point, with the logs, sunlit leaves and branches pointing to that point. Almost every time I've been in the wood, I have seen the Deer, usually just their back ends as they scuttle off to safety.
Lots of texture in this painting - had fun painting the leaf carpet with a heavily-laden palette knife.