WYSIWYG

What You See Is What You Get. This is a journal blog, an explore-blog, a bit of this and that blog. Sharing where the mood takes me. Perhaps it will take you too.

Menonday Art Vibe; Smoko

In Australia in the early 20th Century, industrial workers were given a mid-morning or mid-arvo break to officially light up their ciggies and pipes. As is the way of Aussies, the "Smoking Session" quickly became known as the Smoko. The term is now used in general for any break from work that is not breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and frequently these days, it has nothing to do with ingesting anything other than air to the lungs.

None of this has anything to do with today's picture choice other than the shepherd taking a seat and smoking. 



Anyone paying any attention here for any length of time will recall my love of sheep. (Yes - all farm animals, but the focus here is sheep..._) How could I, then, not include this wonderful painting? Not only did it feature the sheep, the shepherd, and the Border Collie, but the lighting in the painting is actually reminiscent of that which permeates Australian scenes such as this - although if you read the guff, it is thought to be Berkshire in England.

The sheep have recently been shorn, but this only accentuates their physique, which differs from what prevails today, at least in the UK and Europe. You will still see these leaner, more goat-like ovines in, say, places like the Balkans.

How does this painting make you feel?


15 comments:

  1. the looks of the sheep through the fencehas sommething promising ;o)

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  2. I love the light in that picture,and while I agree about it sharing a similarity with light in Australian depictions, you have to admit the tree shapes in the bacground look like Englush countryside. The sheep themselves look like black faced Suffolks to me.

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  3. I can tell you that this painting came up and I sat and stared and stared and the first thought that came to me, was I would love to hang this on my wall.... it makes me feel restful, the sheep make me happy, the dog reminds me that I now call myself Beau's Border Collie, I love the way the feet are splayed and look so real I wanted to touch them. the detail is amazing. it is a rare thing for me to see art in a musuem that I would like on my wall... I love realistic and this is so real I can smell the sheep... I also love shadows and light play, this has it all. thank you. in the past week we have watched 3 movies made in Australia on Prime...

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  4. The shepherd and his pup look very happy relaxing together. Love the painting!

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  5. I like the painting and the scene with the sheep the dog, and the shepherd taking a smoke break. Take care, have a wonderful week!

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  6. I find this a wonderful painting, both the subject and the artistry. To the extent that it is possible to judge texture and depth from an image on a flat computer screen, the execution seems to be perfect. Just a fine work in every way.

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  7. Beautiful painting and interesting time for a smoko!

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  8. Ohhhhhhhhh This is very pretty and reminds me of a YouTube video I enjoy. Sean the Sheepherder and his amazing Border Collies in Scotland.
    Hugs Cecilia

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  9. I love the Sheep painting! There is such diversity in sheep, we see it here in our area. Where we live there are people who raise all kinds of "fringe" livestock. Like Scottish Cows, Folvic Cattle (they are a half sized Angus), texas longhorns along with the standard charlais and herfords (and more). A friend who weaves raises about 8 different kinds of sheep, 4 different breeds of goats, llamas and alpacas (he first lambs are being born right now). I will miss all the babies this year, no driving for me for at least another 6 weeks. Keep being AWESOME! Barb

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  10. I agree with the description, such lovely attention to detail!!

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  11. As Madsnapper said, it is a very peaceful scene and a beautiful painting. The dog looks devoted to his master and may be waiting for his treat or maybe a puff at the smoko too:)

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  12. We love the way the border collie is looking so intently at the shepherd. It shows the strong connection between them...or maybe the pup was hoping for a little snack.

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  13. Hi Yam - I love those early art works ... this depicts life as it was - interesting artist - thank you ... cheers Hilary

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