"Bound and Determined" Original Oil Painting

This winter we spent a couple of days snowed in here at our home in Boone, NC. After two consecutive days of overcast skies and snow, the third day broke clear and cold. I ventured out at sunrise to snap some photos to reference in later paintings and soon stumbled upon this scene not far from our house. I was really drawn into it by the perspective created by the shadows and thought it the perfect scene to show a fox mousing. The dark pines in the background provide great contrast for this side-lit fox, and I really pushed the lighting and warm edges around his silhouette to make him pop.