Thursday, August 21, 2008

Bison Run

5 X 7 Oil on Masonite $110
Includes shipping and insurance
I drew this fellow while we were in South Dakota and knew he'd be good for a number of different paintings - and all big. This is one of about 10 different images I plan to use of bison.
We came upon a herd of around 150 animals while visiting Custer State Park in southern South Dakota (which was a spectacular state, by the way) and I went nuts getting photos. There were several bulls and every one of them was chasing a cow. They weren't interested in me, so I didn't feel too threatened. I was, however, very threatened by one very large, angry, head-shaking cow who definitely didn't think I should be in her territory. She charged toward me twice and I got the message the second time. There was a fence between us, but I had no doubt that she could go through it if she wanted. We used to have a Simmental cow that behaved that way when she had a young calf. That cow nearly caught me several times and once chased me around and around the tractor bellowing and head-shaking the whole time. We called her "Spooky", because she was also hard to catch and pen and nearly impossible to get into a trailer. Obviously we finally DID catch her...and we vowed to never again coddle spooky cows. One cow that is difficult can "infect" the whole herd and make catching them impossible. What a rodeo that used to be!
Matthew 19:26
Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

2 comments:

Mary Sheehan Winn said...

Debbie, I've enjoyed reading about your travels and your life and looking at your paintings! They are wonderful.

Rick Nilson said...

I love the way you captured the colors of these magnificent beasts. Yesterday I layed as still as a stone and watched these guys come and go doing buffalo buisness. I like the 30X40 size.