The Coyote and the Tern

This is a very bad photo of a painting that looks much better in life. I'm tempted to dig my scanner out of the closet and scan the painting directly into the computer to see if it looks any better. The painting is a 9x12" study of a Coyote wading through the Sagebrush habitat of Northern Arizona.
The famous old western novelist Zane Grey titled his most famous novel, Riders of the Purple Sage. There was a country/ rock group in the 1970's called, New Riders of the Purple Sage. I have spent a lot of time observing Sagebrush and related bushes like Tumbleweed, Rabbit Bush, Snakeweed etc. It never looked purple at all to me. A lot of golds, yellows, greens, and blues to my eyes.

Anyway I am fascinated by it all. It reminds me of tundra in many ways. I have tried to paint it many times. Coyotes belong in this habitat. I really admire Coyotes for their adaptability. In the American West, unenlightened Ranchers have waged war on Coyotes since the West was first settled. They managed to wipe out the Wolf, but they have'nt put a dent into the Coyote population.

Coyote Study 9x12"

This is a slightly different photo of the painting although the actual painting is not so dark in the foreground.

Arctic Tern Study 7x5"

I seldom paint anything this small, but here it is.