Last September, I spent seven days backpacking in Yellowstone, which has been a central inspiration for me as an artist, but this recent trip was a special gift. I saw so much wildlife and had the joy of camping near the Druid wolf pack for three days. Both the male and female pass time bonding with their pups. There are many Idle Hours with no agenda other than tenderness and play. A wolf’s eyes seem to always have a remote distance, but this mother is in her own world, a place of incredible security, with her two pups. This was the painting I always wanted to do. I felt somehow completed when it was finished. - BM