Deer Skull With Aura

The dogs and I were hiking through the woods - which can be pretty wild here in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Moxie the red dog joyfully brought me this magical find. I cleaned it in bleach and set it up to paint. Lo and behold, it more than spoke to me thru the oils. I spent a long, long time on it - medical illustrator that I was - exploring the sutures, eye sockets, foramen, orifices and so on; so it began to take on a new, mystical life. Hence, the slight aura emanating from the top. It's a straight-on expression of curiosity and structure that seeped into my soul.

The Latin name for white tailed deer is odocoileus virginianus. Quite a mouthful. I prefer Deer Skull With Aura.

The second I showed this to a friend, he bought it. I painted the majority of this at the end of the winter, feeling blue and out of sorts. It's one of the pieces that's either a love or a hate. It's going into the hands of someone who will love it.