Full moon rising...

The full moon always grabs my attention. There's a peaceful, reflective quality to it, that I want my paintings to emanate. It's a subject I love to try to capture on canvas.... and a challenging one, too! 

After my day of plein air painting for the Yellowstone Park Foundation, I'm particularly enthralled with Old Faithful. Always changing, the colors, the steam, the moody atmosphere - I can't get enough. I find fall to be a particularly beautiful time there. So I went back last night.

This is my study from just after sun set, as the moon was rising....

12" x 12"  Oil   Plein Air study   by Shirl Ireland

A little later in the evening, I took a photo for an idea you will see me exploring more....a nocturne at Old Faithful. Like I said, I can't get enough of the moods of Old Faithful!...Stay tuned.

 

 

 

The wildlife of the week?....Moose.

We've seen a lot this week....

 

From hiking in the back country - 

We came upon a bull, cow and calf....

 

To on our way to a soccer game,

very close to the road....

 

 

Always interesting around here!

And we even missed one....while we were at Old Faithful, friends checking on the house told us a bull moose walked right through the meadow across the river. Darn, I really would have liked to add that photo to 'Our Yellowstone Zoo'. I'm keeping my camera charged, in case he comes back through.