Awareness, or lack there of.

So there I was, early last fall, on my way home from California, a few days in Yellowstone before the show in Kansas City. Up in the morning, trying to get warm, then hiking, drawing and fishing for the day. The hardest part of being on the road is the aloneness, and in the west, finding a cell signal so I can call home.
Bear Study, oil on panel, 10 x 10 inches

In Yellowstone I know three places I can get a signal, one on a high ridge in the north central part of the park where I wanted to do some drawing. So early one morning I am walking along the ridge, carrying my drawing board, a big tablet, charcoal, watercolors, my morning coffee, and gabbing with Darby on the phone. My version of multi-tasking.

Bear Study, oil on panel, 10 x 10 inches

I am not good at it, the multi-tasking. And Yellowstone is not the place to practice. As I walked along the ridge, I was noticing something that didn't fit quite right, but I was busy talking -well, flirting - with Darb. But in the back of my mind something was saying, Hey, people don't do gardening up here, these big chunks of turf and boulders spread around mean something ........

And then I saw the big bear turd. Seemed fairly fresh. Time to quit flirting and pay attention to where I was.

I walked all around the ridge, being really noisy, before I was comfortable knowing I was the only one/thing my size or larger, around right then. And it was still difficult to concentrate enough to draw.
Grizzly in Summer Sun, Oil on panel, 24 x 24 inches

I love Yellowstone.

I have no intention of being a wildlife artist, but I have an idea floating around in my head that I want to explore. These, along with the monotypes of animals, are the beginnings of that exploration.