Wildlife, wildlife, wildlife!

I so enjoyed this trip into the mountains of Colorado this Fall. We saw all kinds of wildlife and in all types of situations. This was a sculptors dream, to be able to capture these animals in their true surroundings and watch them interact normally.

Was excited to see this big guy but I stayed my distance as he was moving quite fast.

Just goes to show you that you have to have your camera ready at all times.

This beautiful guy was bugling to his challenger.

There is a rule of thumb I always try to remember and that is never go around with no film in camera or down to the last shot...this was actually taken on my walk to the bathroom. You just never know!

If you are an artist trips like this add to your inner pool...if you are a patron, you often wish you could duplicate what you saw in a piece of art. Either way enjoy outdoors and all it has to offer and try to keep it the same or better for the generations who come behind you.

Pack it in, Pack it out. So many leave more than just footprints to clutter our outdoors, choke a chipmunk or turn a bear into a looter.

Otters the clowns of wildlife

This was a fun piece to put together.  It involved two of my favorite things, animals and wood.

Underwater Playground

At the time I was helping the Division of Wildlife here in Colorado research river otters along the Platte.  My partner on that first particular trip ended up not showing so I covered the area alone.  I became aware of the danger in that when I fell through the top of a cave along the bank created by a beaver.   It thankfully did not break anything but I realized I was miles from a vehicle if I had needed it. To an observer I probably looked pretty comical because my main fear was a rattler down there so I came out as fast as I fell in the hole.

From then on we partnered that responsibility and my son often joined me to scare off snakes and collect all the ticks first.

Otters are playful, fun animals and I tried to catch that attitude plus the grace and movement of these wonderful creatures in this work. (Ocean otters are totally different)

Old wood, what can I say, I have wandered shorelines for years picking up drift wood and love what time and weather do to give it character.  I tried to capture that look in the tree that the otters chase the trout around. Often trees damaged when young have distorted root systems and create a playground for fish and otters alike.

This work went fast as does anything you are passionate about. The patina lends itself to a look of underwater reflections on the tree and the otters. This is an older piece with only one edition remaining. It has also always been a difficult piece to photograph but then photography of sculpture is another long post in itself. A good piece that can be viewed in the round also showing the movement and flow easily.