Description
“I was drinking in the surroundings: air so crisp you could snap it with your fingers and greens in every lush shade imaginable offset by autumnal flashes of red and yellow.” ~Wendy Delsol
When I arrived in McCullough Peaks outside Cody, after being chased out of the southern part of Wyoming due to snow in October of 2018, I was hoping the Peaks would have maintained her desert persona and be dry so I could get into the 150 or so mustangs who roam on approximately 110,000 acres in that historic and colorful area!
Taking a right onto Whistle Creek road the night I arrived, the sun was quickly sinking in the western sky behind the Absaroka Mountain Range, but I still wanted to take a meander into this incredibly beautiful area to see if I could see anything wild. I pondered why my heart beat had quickened but my body relaxed. I love this area, this area of history, badlands, grasslands, and sage, always with a hint of red about her, and this was fall so the color was splendid and rich everywhere the eye would wander!
Pronghorn did not disappoint as they are bountiful in the Peaks and that time of a waning day they were on the move. About five miles in I spotted the backs of wild horses and pulled over to glass. Oh….thirty plus horses, about ¾ of a mile off the main road. I asked myself if I had time to get into them, and self said, “Duh!” so off I went with camera and binoculars, winter coat, hat and gloves and just in case, a flashlight.
As I worked on this image of these two stallions, captured that evening, a subtle consciousness arose as I recognized that one is a deep and dark, blood red bay (I have always been a sucker for those beautiful, rich bays), my jacket is red, the Peaks are red, the badlands of TRNP are scattered with the red of clinker and scoria—well it strongly suggests red and all of her many shades, play a significant role but yet so subtle in the underlying psyche of this human and why I felt my heartbeat quicken and my body relax as I drove into my second favorite place, to date, to find and observe and be witness to such beauty and color in our American mustangs!
These wild stallions, with no names to me, are a powerful example of how rich and varied and beautiful America’s wild horses are, and how much I appreciate every time their story is shared and talked about! You are their voice! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being that voice!
This one of a kind 24×16 limited edition print is professionally framed to protect your investment for the next generations. Printed by a master printer this fine art piece is framed with a black wood frame, white archival mat, and archival UV acrylic. Includes an added professional look to give the artwork more depth when viewing. Signed, titled, and numbered by the artist with a graphite pencil and includes a Certificate of Authenticity (COA).
