New Wildlife Paintings – Moose, Bison, and Elk

I recently posted these paintings on my website and Facebook page, but I wanted to provide some additional information about the inspiration behind each piece for those who want to know.

Early to Rise – 20x30

This piece has been in the works since I first experienced the scene in October of 2009. I was spending some time in Grand Teton National Park with the primary purpose of gathering reference material of Shiras Moose, while also on the lookout for other wildlife and landscape ideas. On this particular morning, I was on the road very early so I could investigate several spots within the park before sunrise. I found this bull moose hanging out in the sage brush flats and was able to photograph him just as the sun came up and cast a warm glow on the peaks of the distant Tetons. This was just one of those experiences that I knew I had to paint as soon as I experienced it. The overwhelming beauty of the vivid colors on the mountain peaks in conjunction with the awe of being so close to one of the largest mammals in our region was about as good as it gets for me. Before attempting this larger piece, I created a smaller study painting for this scene so I could work out some of the major challenges I would encounter. Then I also spent quite a bit of time working out a good design based on the photographic reference I was able to gather and the memories I took from the experience.

Yellowstone Boss – 20x24

I came up with the idea for this piece based on experiences from several summer trips to Yellowstone to view bison during their annual mating season. The battles between mature bulls for rights to the females typically steal the show, but for this piece I wanted to focus on another common scene at that time of year. Once a bull proves his dominance, you will often see him split away from the main herd with the cow - this mature bull is guarding his “prize”. The scene for this painting is the always beautiful Lamar Valley, which is home to a sizable herd of wild bison.

River Patrol – 12x16

This piece is based on another experience in the field that I knew I had to paint as soon as it happened. I found this bull elk right at dawn crossing the Madison River in Yellowstone. He had a harem of around 20 cows pushed up on shore and he was aggressively cruising back and forth along the shoreline making sure none of them strayed off. The strong morning light is what makes this piece work, as the bull really glows against the dark shadows behind him. This piece was done as a study for what will be a much larger and more dynamic painting coming sometime later this year. I’m really looking forward to it.

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