Wolf Studies

8" x 10" charcoal on board

by Shirl Ireland

11" x 14" graphite on board

A couple charcoal and pencil studies I donated for the Wolf Program with Doug Smith and Bob Landis April 1st in Bozeman, Montana. They're portraits from my closest experience with a pack of wild wolves. I was driving into Yellowstone National Park late last fall at the end of the season. The roads were quiet. I had been in the day before and watched a grizzly and wolf 'stand off' at an elk carcass and was heading back to that area. But there they were, a pack of wolves, walking right up the road toward me. I pulled over into a nearby pullout and they kept walking, seemingly undisturbed by my vehicle. They passed right beside me. It was amazing seeing a pack of wolves so close that I could look into their eyes.