'Tracker' - Original Framed

8x10 Acrylic on gesso primed panel

Frame Size 17 x 14

Story behind the painting: 

Putting boots on the ground and heading deep into the thickest, steepest terrain I could find a month before elk season is one of my favorite parts of the hunt. There's something about climbing up steep mountains over fallen trees and breathing in that high-country air, smelling them and knowing you're amongst them.
Scouting where elk eat, sleep, drink, and walk. Learning every single lay of the land and figuring out which ridges and drainages they've marked as their own, it's no small task. It takes effort, patience, and a lot of dedication. But when you finally piece it all together, when the last puzzle piece clicks, it's one of the most rewarding feelings you can have outdoors.
Then comes opening day. The scouting is done. The plan is set. And when that same 5x5 bull you first spotted in velvet a month earlier answers your cow call and steps into range, broadside at just 30 yards, and you make the shot... it's absolutely unreal. A moment that lives with you forever.
I didn't find him until six days later, but I'm unbelievably grateful for the opportunity. From the first time I laid eyes on him to the moment I recovered him, it was a journey I'll never forget.
This acrylic painting is from that very first encounter, when he was still in velvet, unaware of the unforgettable story we were about to write together. One month before opening day.