"Allies for a Season" by Kristin Jurist Haakenson

Allies for a Season

acrylic on canvas

24" x 36" x 1.5"

Available for purchase at Carnation Corners, Carnation, WA

Kristin Jurist Haakenson

http://kristinjurist-art.com/

http://kristinjuristart.blogspot.com/

kristinjurist@gmail.com

"Shy Elk Calf" by Kristin Jurist Haakenson

Shy Elk Calf

acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

11" x 14"

$365 framed

Available for purchase from Freshwater Studio & Gallery, Dillon, MT

I still had wet paint leftover from some recent paintings, so I decided to keep rolling with the elk theme and produced this little guy. I never realized how knobby an elk calf's knees were until I painted them...

April had covered the hills

With flickering yellows and reds,

The sparkle and coolness of snow

Was blown from the mountain beds. 

-Amy Lowell, "Azure and Gold"

Kristin Jurist Haakenson

http://kristinjurist-art.com/

http://kristinjuristart.blogspot.com/

kristinjurist@gmail.com

"Awakening" by Kristin Jurist Haakenson

Awakening

acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

18" x 24" x 1.5"

$775 unframed

Available for purchase from Freshwater Studio & Gallery, Dillon, MT

Here's another elk in dawn light with an entirely different color scheme & mood (as compared to Morning's Call). Iridescent copper paint is mixed in with the pigments to give the piece a more subdued glow.

I've been having a lot of fun trying new directions lately - it's far too easy to box oneself in, so I'm working on experimenting more and forcing myself to let go of the attention to composition in my reference photos. Over the past few months, I've been focusing more on the portraying the form of a subject (I waxed philosophical on that in July) - I'm trying to convey the "elk-iness" of an elk, the "morning-ness" of morning, etc. I have a lot of work to do, but it's an exciting journey:)

How fair it comes, the wonderful hour

When nature from sleep awakes,

And over the face of the earth at last

A newborn gladness breaks!

The stars grow pale in the shadowy sky,

And over the mountains creep

The mists that are part of the waking world,

And part of the earth's sweet sleep.

The restless birds in the tree-tops high

Are shaking their wings at last,

And chirp, and twitter their songs of praise,

As the dawn comes on so fast.

But who can tell of the wondrous charm,

When over the distant hills

The day's bright king in his glory comes

And the earth with radiance fills?

Now scatter, ye mists, from the mountain-side,

And die in the sky's soft blue;

For the dawn has passed, and the day is here,

With its light and joy so true. 

-Mary Dowe Brine, "The Awakening"

Kristin Jurist Haakenson

http://kristinjurist-art.com/

http://kristinjuristart.blogspot.com/

kristinjurist@gmail.com

"Morning's Call" by Kristin Jurist Haakenson

Morning's Call

acrylic on canvas

24" x 12"

$625 framed

Available for purchase from Freshwater Studio & Gallery, Dillon, MT

This was my first attempt at painting an elk, and surprisingly enough, I found that the antlers were my favorite part of the process...I had assumed that they'd drive me batty. I mixed more of that lovely iridescent gold paint in with my pigments. I dripped paint from the bottom of the canvas toward the top to vaguely suggest the appearance of a field.

Have you ever heard an elk's bugle, by the way? It's a really surprising sound for such a massive creature to make.

Kristin Jurist Haakenson

http://kristinjurist-art.com/

http://kristinjuristart.blogspot.com/

kristinjurist@gmail.com