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| On a recent field trip to Alaska, I was standing amidst the frozen
tundra transfixed by the drama of an incoming snowstorm descending from
a distant mountain range. Instantaneously, it transformed what had been
a crisp, dry, sunny day into one of menacing uncertainty.
I was fascinated by the contrast between the still, sunlit foreground and the dark backdrop of the storm-engulfed mountains as it proceeded to consume the landscape. I immediately thought this would make a dramatic setting for a future painting. I chose Arctic wolves as the main subject in the painting because they are somehow symbolic of this wild, harsh, unforgiving region where weather conditions can change more often than day turns into night. The Arctic wolf is one of many popular names for phases of the gray wolf. This usually larger member of the family Canis lupus has adapted well to the cruel environment of the frozen north and is justifiably considered to be the hardiest and most intrepid of the wolves. Although varied, the predominant color of most wolves is grizzled gray which gives rise to its common name; gray wolf. There isn't any strict rule to color phases, but it is known that in the more northern parts of their range, wolves tent to be paler in color, and very often are almost completely white in Arctic regions. |