Members’ sketches to the theme.

Sheep drawings by Henry Moore

Comment on sheep drawings by Henry Moore – Audrey Culling
No matter how I draw or paint sheep, the result makes me laugh, so I thought I’d send a page of drawings by Henry Moore.
He had a small studio in Much Hadham in Hertfordshire which I visited once. It had a long low window overlooking fields where a local farmer grazed his sheep. They came very close to the window and Henry began drawing them. At first he saw them as balls of wool on legs but then he began studying them: the way they moved, the shape of their bodies under the fleece.
They bring strong human and biblical associations and, the sight of a ewe with her lamb, evoked the mother and child theme. A large form sheltering a small one, which became important in all his work.
He filled a sketchbook with sheep drawings and presented it to his daughter, Mary. He said, “Drawing, even for people who cannot draw, even for people not trying to produce a good drawing , makes you look more intensely.

Cartoon by John Watt