Elk at Yellowstone
(scroll down for description)
24” x 40”, acrylic, 1999

Yellowstone Park is legendary in the annals of wilderness protection. Teddy Roosevelt said, "The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired, in value."

It is probably most famous for the thermal activity, the jewel in the crown of which is Old Faithful, the spectacular geyser. However, my own taste is in the direction of the out of the way corners of the park that have a quiet beauty of their own. I came across the forest pool at dusk one day many years ago. There was no particular centre of interest but the running linear pattern of the trees and the perfect reflection caught my eye. As in many of my paintings, shapes and forms found in nature are reminiscent of non-objective painting. That is the reason for putting on my metaphorical brakes and stopping and saying, 'That could be a good idea.' It is intuitive and not logical at all.

Of course, there were no elk in the scene; I am seldom that lucky. Virtually all of my paintings are creations assembled from a variety of sources. I am always trying to capture a moment in time, which could have happened.