Watchful

This is my most recent painting. It's done in acrylics on 11X14 canvas. I'm drawn to farm animals. I didn't grow up on a farm, though my grandmother did. They also had a large garden in their retirement years. I was driving around one day and came accross this field full of sheep. I stopped to take some photos. The sun was going down casting a low warm light on everything. There is something about domesticated animals that I find disturbing. It's not that I'm a vegetarian, but I know if I had to kill the animals to eat meat I probably would be a vegetarian. Sheep are so fluffy, and dumb. Yet the feeling I got from this mama sheep was definately a bit threatening. She kept walking right towards me where I was snapping pics at the fence. It may be my own unfamiliarity with farm animals that gives me that feeling. I don't know. Farm animals are often depicted as happy, dumb creatures. They probably are. But I was struck by the tension between the fluffy, happy sheep stereotype and this rather large threatening animal. Plus they are cool. Anyway. Thought I'd paint them. By the way, it's for sale if you are interested.