Brendan Killian

I began painting sheep 20 years ago during an artist’s residency in Vermont. This work marked a huge departure from my previous work, inspired by both the pastoral setting as well as the changes I was experiencing on a personal level. Although I’ve moved on to other subject matter since, (horses, rabbits and various other real and imagined creatures), like a shepherd, the sheep continue to lure me back, and I always feel obliged to answer they’re call. In a general sense, the sheep serve as a visual metaphor to explore issues of sacrifice and spiritual transformation. Not unlike they’re roll in Christian iconography. On a more personal level, they embody a faith in the future, hence my choice of title; “Response”. Likewise, the other animals in my repertoire inhabit another emotional landscape charged with the vernacular that best describes my current perception of reality.