Artwork--Winter Watchers

Whew! After several weeks of scurring around, running to the studio to do a little work then to the basement to make prints and cut mats, running out to the driveway to shovel snow, back to the studio....it all got done in time for the show.

Here they are, matted and ready to go into their frame.



I wish I had gotten a shot of it at the show in its frame, a gorgeous walnut frame with maple keys that shows the foxes off beautifully.

Here's a close-up of the standing fox. The eyes have it! They have to--when you're doing portraiture, the eyes have to be alive, communicative, expressive. I like that this piece also has body language and the dynamic of the two animals sharing the space in the frame.



Now that the show is past I have a little time to relax and enjoy the day. The latest storm to hit the east coast missed us, not even a flurry flew. The sun came out by the middle of the day, and standing out on the balcony we heard the sandhill cranes for the first time this year. What a relief it always is, knowing that they're "home". Next will be the male red-winged blackbirds, eager to stake out their territory to impress the ladies when they return, with more sense, after the snows melt.

I worry for the early spring arrivals. We still have a lot of snow on the ground for early March, and I hope they can find enough forage to tide them over until the world greens up. Looks like we might get rain by Sunday, won't that be a beautiful sound!

The sun sets and shoots golden through the air. Shaded snow catches the color of the sky, holds it close. This is the best time of day, this quiet time when the sunlight mellows your thoughts and softens the edges of everything.