Nosey sheep (30)

I don’t usually specifically paint animals and birds, but nevertheless our furry and feathered friends feature in about half a dozen of my paintings. This picture of a nosey sheep was painted from a photo my Mum took and sent to me. She has also painted a version of this photo.

You can tell this is a Derbyshire scene because of the dry stone wall - a very common feature in that part of the UK. Some of the walls are ancient and still standing up to the elements remarkably well. Dry stone walls do not use cement in their construction and provide a valuable habitat for plants, animals and insects in exposed areas … as this picture shows.

I like sheep. I think they’re cute and cuddly, but I feel they get a hard rap, particularly in Australia. Living in Fremantle, I regularly get to smell the stench of thousands of frightened sheep crammed onto ships to be sent to the Middle East to be killed by halal standards. There is no reason for this cruelty - why can’t they be so slaughtered here and the carcasses shipped overseas in refrigerated ships?