Silence is Golden by Carl Brenders, available from Snow Goose Gallery.

 

"I got the inspiration for this painting on a hiking trip in Yellowstone National Park. That trip to my much-beloved national park in Wyoming was one of those disappointments when no game shows up until, all at once, my wife Paula pointed to something like a stump. When the stump moved and looked at us, we realized it was an owl - the great gray owl! This made our day. The bird flew up, but stayed very close to us. For about twenty minutes we could enjoy his company.

 

"The area was a mixture of aspen trees and lodge pole pine. The owl flew from one tree to another. When he perched in such a wonderful full-colored aspen tree, I forgot everything and the thrill was indescribable. Inspiration like this right from the wild is the best basis for a good painting.

 

"Of all the owl species, a few hunt during daylight including the great gray and the snowy owl. The great gray owl is the largest North American owl, being represented also in a large part of northern Europe and Asia.

 

Print released 2003.