Painting # 47 of my painting a day project. 4" x 4" oil on canvas.

Sometimes you just don't know what you are going to end up with when you start.

Such was the case with "Shapeshifter." Halfway through the painting, it shifted. Perceivably. Palpably. There was a moment when I was painting and then...BAM! The painting took control and painted itself. But it didn't go where I had intended. Oh no. It had a mind of its own.

I started out painting a Lynx - my friend and talented watercolor artist Sue Whitten had written a post on Facebook saying her husband had seen a Lynx while hiking in the mountains. So I decided a Lynx would be an interesting subject to paint. Feline and fearless, Lynx is a solitary and rather elusive animal. So I was painting Lynx, when, in the stroke of my brush, someone else appeared. My old friend the Fox. I knew at that juncture that I had a choice. Stay steadfast with Lynx, or hand over the painting to Fox. I chose the latter.

At that moment the painting was no longer mine. It belonged to Fox, and I was just the conduit for expression. Without thought, the painting progressed and finished quickly. And there was no question about when the painting was finished. Even though it may appear to some to be not quite done, that is how Fox wanted to present himself. Not quite finished, as if at any moment he may shift again. In fact, in looking at the painting, I think he may be between time and places.

Can he shift into human form? Why not. We are all made of the same stuff.

I've written before about Fox as a totem animal. I think the significance of Fox, should he (or she!) appear in your life, is to be ready to change, to turn on a dime, to blend in or stand out as needed to achieve your goals. If you find you have an attraction to Fox - whether it is one you initiate or if Fox just shows up in your life, it is a good idea to study Fox's habits and try to apply them to yourself.

I have had a "relationship" with Fox for many years - my earliest memory is seeing Fox in the woods behind my house when I was a young child. At first I thought she was a big orange cat. But as she passed by, she stopped a moment and then looked back at me. Years later I was attracted to and acquired a photograph called "Goodbye Fox," taken by wildlife and landscape photographer George Hager. (I'd provide a link but he doesn't have an internet presence!) That photograph reminded me of the look the Fox gave me - a look that has stayed with me for over 40 years. On a trip to Mesa Verde, Colorado, I purchased a fox fetish. And a couple years ago, I traded a painting for a photograph of a mama fox and her kit by Michael Roberts. Each time I would see a fox, a kind of thrill would rise up in me. But I didn't put all of this together that Fox might one one of my totem animals until recently.