Love is in the Air - Bobcats

I never get tired painting cats. That wonderful species of predator has so many representatives, and their activities always are very inspiring; stalking, hunting, sleeping, and grooming, etc. all great moments to paint. One of the most powerful elements on our planet and in the cosmos is the instinct to reproduce, and keep the species going. Everything that lives can not resist that powerful instinct. It’s the legacy of billions of years of evolution. In the cat world this instinct leads to remarkable behavior of seduction. I remember my house cats, when the moment was there, how difficult it was to keep them inside. It makes you respect the power of nature. When I could do great fieldwork in a game farm with domesticated bobcats, I was amazed how much they behave like our tabbies. The fruit of such fieldwork is a painting like this. The combination of such fieldwork and ones imagination makes a painting like this possible. My obsession with texture made me decide to use snow as a background for this scene. Snow is frozen water. Crystals stick together and cover the earth with a nice white blanket. It’s a great challenge to create that cold feeling with paint. Look at the many colors (tints) one can have in shadows on the snow. These are memories of many cross country ski trips.