A Hunter's Dream by Carl Brenders

 

"The rutting season of the American elk begins with preliminary activities by the bulls in mid-August with the peak occurring from mid-September to mid-October. At night, an elk's bugle can be one of the most terrifying sounds on earth. For the bulls, the mating season is a time of constant vigilance, fighting, chasing and breeding. It is during this period of severall weeks that they suffer a weight loss of more than 100 pounds.

"The first bugling elk I had ever seen was in Yellowstone Park. The scenery was exactly as it is in my painting, not far from Old Faithful. The elk was herding stray cows back into the clearing. I cannot describe how excited I was to see this scene; it was an impressive moment just begging to be painted." - Carl Brenders.

 

Print released 1988.