Growing up in rural Missouri, we often heard coyotes yipping and howling and barking at night, sometimes quite close to our home. Knowing that coyotes almost never attack humans, hearing them was more exciting that frightening. It felt special to have this audible glimpse into their world, a wilderness that overlapped with our land where tedious things happened like cutting and bailing hay and scraping rust off metal gates.

Twice this past winter while photographing wildlife for reference in future paintings, I came across coyotes in fields, and I again felt fortunate to witness them. Most often they were in pairs, but one walked alone in a snowy field, pausing every once in a while to look off in the distance and then continuing on her way. I was mesmerized and could not wait to paint her; she has since become the muse for several coyote paintings, three of which are included in this post.