#690 Deer antlers

Male members of the deer family, including moose and elk,
grow antlers which are extensions of the skull.
Their main purpose is to attract females and to fight
other males.  Antlers and shed and grow back every year.
When a buck is growing antlers, they are referred to as being
in "velvet".  Along with moose and elk, the two other deer
species found in Wyoming are Mule Deer and Whitetail.

Below are etchings showing the difference between a Mule Deer and Whitetail buck's antlers.
Notice the points on a muley's antlers split and fork in two directions while a Whitetail
 buck's antler points grow off of one main beam and do not fork.

Mule Deer

Whitetail Deer


Below, is an etching of a Mule Deer entitled, "The Itch".

Below, is a little oil study in progress of a Whitetail buck.

Below is a sculpture of a Whitetail Deer

"Swamp Buck"
15"H 13"W 6"D
Edition 65
2,400

Below is a sculpture head study of a Whitetail Deer

"Whitetail Bust"
14"H 8"W 6"D
1,200

See post #616

Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish

#689 White-tailed deer

Both Mule Deer and White-tailed deer are found in Wyoming
but Mule Deer are more prevalent.I see muleys daily where I live in
the Lander Valley located on the eastern slopes of the Wind River Range.
Occasionally, White-tails are to be found on the western slopes of the continental
divide, but not often.White-tails are typically considered an eastern deer but we have
them and the further east you go from Wyoming,the more common they become . . .
the Rocky Mountains are the cut-off of their range to the west.

My studio is located on a river that flows into the eastern drainage of the Wind River
and there is a resident herdof White-tail deer a few miles northwest of us . . .
we don't see them often but today a doe and a yearling were out in the harsh,
snowy weather.  Below, are images.

Below, are images of etchings entitled,"First Snow" and "White-tail in Snow".

Below, are images of sculptures entitled, "Swamp Buck" and "White-tail".

"Swamp Buck"
15"H 13"W 6"D
Edition 65
2,400



"Whitetail
12"H 12"W 4"D
Edition 65
2,400


"Whitetail
12"H 12"W 4"D
Edition 65
2,400

Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish

#687 Wild Turkey Review

This week's blog celebrates the Wild Turkey.

Below, are images of drawings, etchings, sculpture, and photos depicting America's Wild Turkey.

.

 Tom

 Jake

Turkey Bookends

Go to the BLOG INDEX and Reference Page for more information.  

See post #616

Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish

#673 Birthday Browns

For those of you who follow our blog, there were no posts last week on Sunday, August 23 or Wednesday, August 26. . . as you know, we typically post every Wednesday and Sunday and we will now resume our normal schedule.  

The reason for no posts:  We were afield in the Rocky Mountain wilderness and had no internet service. 

Last week, Trish and I celebrated her birthday doing what we do every year on our birthdays:  Fishing.

I've read that the good Lord does not count the days you spend fishing against your time here on earth.

If that's truly the case, both Trish and I will be around a long, long time because we both love to fish!

We spent a glorious week in the Rocky Mountain high country in search of brookies [Brook Trout] 

and browns [Brown Trout] in the remote backcountry beaver ponds that we both know so well.

Below, are pictures of Trish on the morning of her birthday.  We ate the three small browns for breakfast,

 the big one for dinner, and released the rest.  It's hard to believe that a trout the size of the big brown shown 

was caught in a small beaver pond!  It was, and on the first cast of the morning!

Happy 71st birthday, Trish!

Below, is an original watercolor-tinted etching of a Brown Trout.

Below, is an original etching entitled, "Lunch".

Go to the BLOG INDEX on the right for more information.

Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish

#638 Wyoming studio, the pond: Great Blue Heron

I spend lots of time in the field traveling far and wide to experience the wildlife subjects that I use for my art.  

A pleasant feature of being in residence in Wyoming is I only have to walk a few paces from the studio to take part in the unfolding drama that constantly takes place at our pond.   Among the birds typically there, I might see a raft of migrating ducks in the fall, always nesting Canada Geese, Mallards, and Mergansers in the spring, pheasants, an occasional Sandhill Crane, Mourning Doves,  many different songbirds, White-faced Ibis, Belted Kingfisher,  Osprey, Bald Eagles,
and one of my favorites: The Great Blue Heron; which is the focus of this blog post.

Below, is John James Audubon's lithograph of the Great Blue Heron.

We've had lots of rain this spring, the pond is full, and the Great Blue has occupied the little island on the pond and fishes for small trout with its dagger-like bill.  When the heron arrives, the nesting Canadas vacate the island and move their brood to the pond's edge but always come back to the safety of the island in the evening when the heron flies off to roost.


Below, the Great Blue Heron has arrived, strides to its favorite fishing spot as the
Canada Geese move off the island with their brood.

There's an old cabin next to the pond, which along with bushes and a jon boat, provides cover when we photograph.
I'll show a picture of the old cabin in the next blog which is about the resident Canada Geese.

Below, are photos of recent events at our pond featuring the Great Blue Heron.
Trish took the first one of the bird behind the jon boat.

The Great Blue Heron is the largest North American heron and is commonly seen in every region of America except the highest elevations of the Rockies.  The big bird slowly wades or waits patiently, staring into the water when feeding and then quickly strikes any prey that comes within its reach.  They have a six to seven foot wingspan and the male is larger than the female.  The bird usually has blue-gray plumage, but in some areas it is completely white. 

Below, are two early etchings of the Great Blue Heron.

Go to the BLOG INDEX on the right for more information.

Blog, text, photos, drawings, and sculpture . . . © Sandy Scott and Trish