Sometimes It Snows In April

Sometimes It Snows In April - study

by Shirl Ireland

Seems to be an appropriate time to announce this.... Sometimes It Snows In April was juried into the Custer County Art and Heritage Center Show which ended last month. BUT, at the end of the show a select few were chosen for a traveling exhibit which tours through the end of the year. I'm honored to have had this painting chosen for the traveling exhibit.

The scene depicts a very messy but memorable day, just about this time last year. I was heading into Yellowstone Park often, looking for the first bison calf of the year. Unfortunately for the new calf, it was a very messy morning to arrive. I did a plein air painting with coyotes yipping nearby and wolves howling in the distance. I went back in at the end of the day to a different scene.... the herd was out of sight now, but I could see one mother bison with her new born calf fending off an advancing black wolf. I watched for quite sometime as they 'jousted' back and forth. Eventually they disappeared from sight over a ridge.

The title for the study was easy - There's an old, very mellow, melancholy Prince song whose lyrics run through my mind every time I say it.... Sometimes it snows in April, sometimes I feel so bad.....It certainly went with the mood of the day.