Some good fun here, as I've been working on this painting on and off for quite a long time now and have just been able to put together enough time to finish it. The piece was inspired by an N. C. Wyeth painting of a sheepherder moving his animals through a canyon. I just thought it was a beautiful moment and it made me imagine people at harmony with their animals and environment; a seemingly ageless relationship acquired through millenniums of living closely side by side. These herders take the little creatures into areas of heavy growth and use their appetites to thin the rapid vegetation to a suitable level for settlement. They eat just about anything down to bare soil. Beyond that they travel tirelessly along the trade routes from one village to the next keeping the roads clear for lines of caravans moving vital goods.
Below are some Gouache sketches that were done around the same time as the digital. I was just sort of working on these separately and wasn't really worried about keeping the designs straight so they deviate a little. I don't think I'll do much more in this vein, but sometimes I just want to explore a couple more angles in the same theme.
