Stephanie Peters

Whenever you encounter a river otter, it always seems like they are having fun. Whether they are rolling around together on the ground or diving for fish, they seem to enjoy being an otter. I’m not sure if there is another animal out there that really likes being what it is as much – well maybe cats. Cats have it made. But River otters seem to at least have a life of play. And that’s the kind of life we should all strive for. Make time for play and be oblivious to the stressors around us for at least a few hours a day.

That’s what it seemed my muse for this painting was doing, while I watched him dive in and out of the water catching fish then rolling on his back. It seemed more like he was playing with his food than eating it. No one told him it was disrespectful to play with your food and maybe that’s the secret to life, there is no bad time to play…

Kee Dee, Kee Dee is part of a series of bird paintings about migration. For more information about the collection, visit Migration Circle Bird Paintings.

Did you know our national mammal, aka the largest land mammal in North America - the American Bison is a keystone species? American Bison use to live across our prairie lands in the millions – some say up to 30 million bison once roamed at a time. And by grazing, they helped stimulate plant growth while their hooves packed in the soil and opened up new areas for seeds to take root. Pretty cool, huh?

Years ago, well not that many years ago, we took a friend visiting from out of state to the Grand Canyon. Like most people who live in Arizona, at some point you realize you only go to the Grand Canyon when someone is visiting from out of state and when you are there, you wonder why you don’t go more often.

Anyway, it was on one of those trips that I saw a yellow-headed blackbird for the first time. I wish I could say I saw this bird hanging out on the edge of a Juniper tree, creating the perfect composition, but that’s not the case. Instead, my once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see these beautiful birds was in a gas station parking lot because the tire pressure light came on as we left the park and we had to evaluate our chances of getting a flat on our drive back down the mountain. Spoiler alert, we didn’t get a flat, but we did get to see a flock of yellow-headed blackbirds. I was captivated by their vivid yellow heads. It was a bright spot to see in an otherwise troubling moment.

These birds typically breed from Utah up into Alberta, and then migrate far south into central Mexico. When I saw them near the Grand Canyon, they were on their way migrating north after most likely spending their winter in Mexico. And since then, I have never seen one again. Though, if you look at their range, it seems like they can be found all over west of the Mississippi in wetland areas and they migrate in large flocks. Apparently, I need to hangout in marshy areas more often...

But somewhere out there is the best place to see yellow-headed blackbirds, and I doubt it’s in a parking lot. But wherever it is, I bet these birds are still a little bright spot of joy.  And this is why I call this one – number 6 in this series - “A Bright Spot.”

Happy New Year! With a year like 2020, I’m sure we’re all looking forward to the fresh start that this little day offers us. A fresh, shiny new year that has the potential to be filled with joy, excitement, and lots and lots of good to cancel out all of last year’s hurdles and loss.

I’m really looking forward to good days ahead and productive periods of creating art I’m excited about. And what better way to start the year artistically than to sit in the studio/gallery and create something that makes me smile? If the year starts off with a smile, maybe it’ll be significantly better than last year, at least one can hope. So, for the first work of 2021, I present a red squirrel in pastel.

May your 2021 be full of whatever makes you smile.