Our Fishing Hole?! 24 x 36

This painting is one that I've been wanting to do for a few years. My husband and I were on a fly fishing trip to the Big Hole River in Montana, and spotted this group of otters.  They were probably one family, although they all seemed to be mature. I've loved otters for their comical ways, climbing on top of each other, rollicking in the water, and generally enjoying their lives.

On this lucky day, the sun was bright and the weather was perfect. One thing that stood in my way of getting a great photo of all these guys on one rock, was that I forgot my camera. I was so disappointed!  However, we watched them from about 10 feet away as they gaped at us from their rounded river rock. Our raft slowly floated by them, and one after another, they slid into the water and disappeared from sight. But, the vision of them remains with me still and served as the inspiration for "Our Fishing Hole!" .

There are some hidden things in this painting as in most of my work:  a mink (actually one that I photographed on the Missouri River), a brown trout diving down with the "fly" it has just picked off the surface, and an elephant head shape in the rocks.

The entire painting is done in oils on a 24 x 36 gessobord© by Ampersand.