Painting #37. I challenged myself on this painting to paint with a very grayed down, subtle palette. I wanted to give the feeling of the moose being camouflaged.

Painting with gray tones proved to be very challenging - I tend to want to brighten everything up! But I felt this young female moose needed to stay somewhat hidden, as a reminder that sometimes we need to lay low and observe, out of the spot light. When moose comes into your life, it is an invitation to explore new depths in your environment - to be still and observe.

When I was a child and spent most of my non-structured hours exploring the acres and acres of woods behind our house, I learned that I could make myself invisible by sitting very still - nestled under the branches of the young trees in the woods. After I'd slowed my breathing down to match the woods, I'd be rewarded by close visitations with crows. blue jays, sparrows, squirrels, chipmunks and occasionally a skunk, deer or fox. And if I looked closely, I could watch the comings and goings of beetles, ants and bees. I'd be thrilled when a snake or salamander came to call.

In my childish mind, I imagined all these creatures to be my friends. I had conversations and learned much about the natural world. I don't remember how old I was when I stopped visiting the woods on a regular basis. When I traded the quiet of the forest for the noise of the mechanical world. When I got sucked into artificial time and the chaotic energy of "reality." But the reality of cars, phones, television and 9-5 has never resonated with me. I am, and always will be, a nature girl at heart.