The Idea or inspiration for a piece can come from a lot of different places. I had been painting for 4 or 5 years, but drawing and using other media for 20 years before that. So over those 5 years painting, I had painted a lot of different subjects and elements like water, trees, vegetation, sky's, and so on. I felt like I was really starting to get the hang of the oil paint. So I had a few really detailed photos of a bobcat. I decided to try my biggest piece yet and throw everything at it. So Fire Eyes is the end result of that initial pursuit.
There is a moment in the wilderness when silence carries more power than movement. Fire eyes captures that instant as a magnificent bobcat emerges from the forest shadows, into the warm evening light and pauses, it's piercing amber gaze fixed on something beyond the viewer's sight. The warm light bathing the grasses contrasts with the mysterious darkness of the woods, revealing an animal perfectly at home between concealment and discovery. By placing the viewer at eye level with the predator, invites the viewer into an intimate encounter rarely seen with one of natures most elusive hunters. I tried to use every element in the painting to lead into my focal point. The bent and varied grasses, fallen log, the deep woods backdrop-softer with less detail works together to emphasize the bobcats quiet confidence and remind us that the wild is filled with beauty, patience, and untold stories.
