I created this piece to enter in to the Women Artists of the West show. This is one of those paintings that seemed to paint itself. I think all the Daily Paintings have kept me loose and "warmed up." I started this on Saturday and worked on it an hour or so, then mostly finished it on Sunday, except for adding a little more color to the Moose's face on Monday. One of the things my daily paintings have taught me is to be somewhat fearless in my application of paint. Within this painting are passages of transparent paint, which drip and run like watercolors, and then thicker passages of opaque paint creating texture and interest. I decided to go with a rather limited palette, keeping the colors to the blue/green side except for the moose's antlers.

According to Ted Andrew's "Animal Speak," the moose is one of the most ancient and unique of the power totems. When Moose appears in your life, it is a special, sacred gift. The moose has a close association with water, which is the primal symbol of the feminine forces of the universe. The Penobscot Indians of Maine tell the story of how moose was once a whale, and the MicMacs of Nova Scotia tell how when moose is too persistently hunted, it returns to the sea. This association with water and sea is important: the sea is the point from which all life begins and to which all life returns. The antlers of the Bull Moose are like spiritual antenae, tuning in to the life force of creative energies.

Magic Waters pays homage to the association of moose with feminine energy and water. Although he browses the grasses of a fresh water lake, the lake flows off into the distance, eventually finding its way back to the source: the Sea.