Sunset,dust and cattle

After the last painting of Sue, which was very detailed and required plenty of attention,I wanted to do something which was simple and easy.Once again I have used a couple of different photos as reference material.I even threw in my sisters dog Patrick.

Now Patrick has a story, he is a real bush breed, and came to us 11 years ago when his mother decided to have her puppies under our caravan.She was no ordinarily dog ,she was a stray and had terrible wounds on her body which caused her to yelp and scream.It was a sad situation because at that time there was no active SPCA or animal welfare group in Maun who could help.Anyway after she decided to give birth under our caravan we tried feeding her but she was very frightened,and would often leave the pups during the day.One day she decided not to come back, and after two days my mom and sister decided to remove the puppies and give them needed attention.It came as a shock to find 4 scrawny puppies that were covered in fleas and maggots.And so started (operation puppies) which include weekly washing's, treatments for the fleas , maggots,and frequent feedings.
We found homes for all the pups,and since our sister had fallen in love with puppies we had to keep one as well , and so that is how Patrick became our dog. He seemed to have inherited from somewhere a special ability to warn us when there is a snake around.Living here in Botswana we have had numerous experience with cobras and puff adders.Unlike other dogs ,especially fox terriers which will rush in and attack the snake, Patrick would keep his distance and bark in a very strange way.We called this the snake bark,and each time we heard it we would go and investigate and sure enough every time there would be a snake.
Aside from surviving snakes he has also survived being hit by a car,gored by a buffalo and narrowly escaping a leopard attack.He is truly an African dog and that's why he probably looks at home in this painting.