“The Fox and the Vine” : Portrait of a female fox with a collar of wild blackberries

the inspiration

My backyard hosts an endless number of muses, both flora and fauna. One of my favorite things to see is the foxes visiting from the surrounding pine and oak woodland. While grey foxes are the native species in the Florida Panhandle, red foxes have migrated here in recent years.

The sight of a fox bounding past my studio window never ceases to thrill me. The bright red of its coat pops wildly against the green of the grass and the blue waterway behind it. In the Spring, they appear the most often. The den, hidden in our tangle of woods, is full of newborn cubs, and the parents emerge in search of a meal for their new family.

My heart leaps with both excitement and fear when I see them, hoping that my smaller pets are safely tucked away. I know they consider themselves most fortunate when they have a chance to pick off one of my chickens.

At this time of year, I try to ensure that I've left them nothing but the wild berries for them to feed off of.

While I prefer that the foxes keep the distance from my farm animals, I am happy to see them have them come around. Their vibrant coats and focused eyes are so handsome I return to them as a subject for paintings over and over again.

Each time one runs by, I am freshly inspired to pick up a paintbrush and paint a portrait of the vixen (or tod) yet again.