Ruminant, Sean W. Byrne, Copyright 2009, All Rights Reserved

I started Ruminant last spring. The original inspiration was the title of this blog. I wanted to do something using sheep as symbols for wandering thoughts, ideas, inspirations.

Sheep at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, NC

In preparation for the painting, I made a trip to the Museum of Life and Science in Durham to check out their Gulf Coast sheep and, while in rural Harnett County for my niece’s graduation, took lots of landscape photos.

Following this initial burst of energy, the painting stalled for a few months as life got in the way.

Rural landscapes in Harnett County.

In September, with Works of Heart looming ever closer, I locked myself in my studio for two weekends in a row and completed a painting called Hydroponic Garden that I had started two years ago, but had never finished. This was a strange experience, since Hydroponic Garden is stylistically part of the “Song” series I was deeply into two years ago… and I have since moved on to the “Meditation” series, which is a very different direction creatively. I was happy with the end result of the painting, however, and it exceeded my expectations in the auction.

Hydroponic Garden, Sean W. Byrne, Copyright 2009, All Rights Reserved

After Works of Heart, I was able to turn my attention back to Ruminant. I settled on four sheep in the foreground (experimenting initially with three and five), arranged them in a grouping that felt comfortable, and balanced the strong horizontal composition with vertical elements such as a broadcast tower, extra-tall trees and two vertical fence posts.

In early October, in need of some R&R, I visited my dad for four days. While decompressing, I found myself being flooded with all kinds of random thoughts. For example, I noticed how the once-imposing, century-old barn was showing its age, and wasn’t looking quite as invulnerable as it used to. I also wondered, while watching my dad hitch up the horses, how many future generations would even know what a horse collar was. My dad and I also had a conversation about the Baltimore/D.C. urban sprawl encroaching ever closer, which made me think about vanishing rural communities in general, and the inevitable march of time.

I collected these thoughts and used them as the basis for a series of small 8″ x 8″ works I am calling Incomplete Thoughts. Some of them, such as Incomplete Thought #1, I am considering doing larger pieces of, providing that particular sheep doesn’t break from the flock and go wandering off, never to be seen again… as sometimes happens.

Incomplete Thoughts 1-4, Sean W. Byrne, Copyright 2009, All Rights Reserved

Ruminant and Incomplete Thoughts 1-4 will be on display in the Exchange Gallery at the VAE on the City Market, downtown Raleigh, Dec 4 – 24. Ruminant is Mixed Media on Panel and is 48″w x 24″h. Incomplete Thoughts 1-4 are Mixed Media on Panel and are 8″w x 8″h. They are all part of the Meditation series.

I will post more about each Incomplete Thought in the coming days/weeks. Don’t hold me to that.