Wild Things Artwork
by Patsy Lindamood

24"H x 17"W Pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord. "At One with the Environment" has been selected for the 2009 Paint the Parks100 and will be on the Paint the Parks100 national tour through most of 2010.

What a rush it is to experience these elegant creatures up close in their environment. On several occasions during our September 2008 trip to Yellowstone National Park we had the fortune to view groups of these swift and graceful antelope pounding across wide open spaces. But on one of the last evenings in the park, headed back to camp at the conclusion of a long day of exploration, we stopped to visit with this individual as he grazed alone near the road. I slogged down through some boggy grasses to reach the solid plain where he was grazing. He kept a close eye on me, but did not seem terribly concerned to have me close by. Those eyes, with their long lush lashes are just incredible. These eyes serve the pronghorn well, allowing him to pick up movement as far as three miles away. Located far back on the head, the eyes enable the pronhorn to keep watch even while the head is down during feeding. Since the prairie offers little cover in which to hide, it needs to be able to outrun any predators that manage to sneak within striking range.

I did not realize, however, until I was back home in the studio laying out my painting, how the pronghorn's coat and coloring afford it a type of protection out on the open plain, especially where the grasses are dry. With late afternoon sun enhancing the golden tones of his coat, as well as the open field, this pronghorn seems to be of a piece with the vegetation he was feeding on - at one with the environment.