Winter Reflection - Wolf

In the 1980's we built a log cabin on a pond the beavers had made by damming a stream that flowed along the base of a cliff. This wall of Precambrian rock plunges to the water's edge. The pond is in a sheltered bowl and so the surface is almost always still. This produces a delightful view of cliff and reflections, always changing with the seasons and the time of day. Winter is one of our favourite times of year. From an artistic point of view it gives the pleasure of large interlocking dark and light shapes, without the confusing green chaos of summertime.

Into this scene came a wolf, in my mind's eye. As in most of my paintings, I take a bit of landscape that appeals to me and introduce a bird or a mammal. I try to capture a moment that could have happened.
In the millions of years that those rocks have stood there, a wolf could have come by that spot. Wolves do live in the area. I want the viewer to enjoy the magic of the place and then to notice the wolf. A moment later he will disappear.