The Babysitter
"We followed a lion pride a full day on a dream trip to the Okavango in Botswana in Southern Africa. One female had given birth to two cubs. Females separate from the pride until the cubs are about one month old. Then she joins the pride again, or the pride joins her, and that was exactly what we witnessed. When the pride found her in the bush, everybody wanted to greet and sniff the newborn pride members. the mother didn't want the other cubs close to the new ones. Their games were too rough, the babies too delicate and fragile. So, the males stayed away from that nice scene and watched the cubs, which after playing like kids, settled down. This was the moment that inspired me for this painting. I saw those males as real babysitters. So the choice of the title for this piece was not difficult: The Babysitter."" - Carl Brenders
