" Awesome land - American Elk "

Robert Bateman

 

" Awesome Land - American Elk "

 

Original Acrylic on Board 24" x 43"

 

Here is a quote from Bateman describing Awesome Land. Fortunately, there are still vast tracts  of our planet where nature reigns.In this landscape, I was awed by the sense of endless lakes, rivers and mountains and, beyond them, more lonely lakes, rivers and mountains.A man could  walk into this land for weeks and never see other human evidence. However, on second thought,  the land is not lonely and is far from empty.This is the home of countless creatures, from elk  or bear, raven or eagle, down to mouse or chickadee. Beneath the ice and snow are countless other  creatures from beaver to insect, all awaiting the bountiful surge of spring. In a sense, the subject of this painting is not just a herd of bull elkand a couple of ravens, but the atmosphere, geology, waterways, forests and the numerous unseen dwellers of this awesome land. - RB We feel honored where we live to have pileated woodpeckers visit our part of the woods. Often, we will hear loud whacking, and there he is throwing big chips in all directions. He is not as shy as his reputation indicates and will work away quite close to the house. In this painting I have put him in a setting that is almost a sculptured landscape in itself . . . the trunk of the beech tree. I find the variety of surface textures like an exciting piece of abstract art.”

Robert Bateman

 

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