Standing before my studio panel, I find myself drawn into the story unfolding in pigment and possibility—a tale that emerged not from planned composition but from the daily poetry of our small farm. Here, where the boundaries between domestic and wild blur into something more nuanced, I’ve captured a moment that speaks to the unexpected harmonies that grace our lives when we pause long enough to witness them.
Victor, our gentle giant, has always carried himself with a dignity that transcends his role as mere farm resident. In this piece, I wanted to capture the way he drops that mantle of equine majesty into something more intimate when his crow friend arrives. Their connection, painted in the subtle angle of his neck and the direct gaze between species, reveals something profound about the nature of friendship—how it finds its way through the most unlikely channels when we leave space for wonder.
Riley and Rabbit, our cattle dogs, bring their own complexity to this narrative. I found myself smiling as I laid down their forms at the fence line, recognizing in their postures that familiar tension between their bred imperative to control and their genuine puzzlement at this disruption of their understood order. Their presence grounds the piece in the daily reality of farm life while simultaneously highlighting how extraordinary this moment truly is.
The crow—this elegant ambassador between wild and domesticated realms—emerged on the panel as more than mere wildlife. Through careful attention to the interplay of light and shadow, I sought to capture that spark of intelligence that first drew it into conversation with Victor. There’s something profound in their shared gaze, something that speaks to the possibility of connection across all manner of perceived boundaries.
Working on this larger scale allowed me to explore these relationships with the depth they deserve. The 30″x40″ panel became a window into a moment where the usual hierarchies of farm life dissolve into something more profound—a testament to the daily miracles that unfold when we allow ourselves to witness them with open hearts and careful eyes.
In many ways, this piece feels less like a painting I created and more like a story I was privileged to witness and record—a moment where the extraordinary revealed itself in the seemingly ordinary rhythm of another day on our farm.
