We Just Wanna Help!

This painting depicts 5 herding dogs (mostly Australian Shepherds) eagerly waiting outside the corral to help with the branding of spring calves. The scene is derived from an actual spring branding where we (my husband and I) help with the vaccinations of the calves born that year. The horses are actually owned and ridden by local cowboys/cowgirls that do the roping and gathering of the livestock. The dogs are my creation from years of experience painting dogs. I wanted them to be colorful as compared to the black and white border collies that normally appear at these brandings. The scenery is derived from the valley along the Jefferson River which runs along the base of the hills nearby.