Lions, lambs and Easter lilies, or Lions, lambs and leadership…
Inspirations for this design were a misremembered saying: “rather be a lamb led by a lion than a lion led by a lamb” (actual saying below), and Easter lilies flowering in nearby gardens. My entry in the Lion-lamb contest. © Su Schaefer 2013
The actual saying: “An army of lions led by a sheep is no match for an army of sheep led by a lion.” Attributed to Winston Churchill, and cited in a book on leadership by Richard Luecke: ‘Scuttle your ships before advancing: and other lessons from history on leadership and change…’ OUP, 1994.
While incubating the idea I looked at pictures of 'leadership' which generally show one person dominant or prominent (e.g. more brightly colored) in a group of people, together with arrows pointing every which way… Not very inspiring. Then my local newspaper reported results of a trial evacuation from the Harbour Tunnel which observed (from video & interviews) that in an emergency few like to lead (94% said their movements were influenced by others; full report here). That did it, I made up my mind and led with lions AND lambs leading!Related designs are:
Felt pen & oil on canvas, designed as a half drop, basic repeat, 225 ppi.
