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Show Ariisi puis brush io wildlife he has studied Bv Hartt Whom Yfrnal Exprw Outdoors Writer Wtienl'tah wildlife artist Dave Wade B brush to a wildlife glinting you . n h? certain N? is working from phonal observation. For example in Wade's portrayal of rvKv Mountain bighorn sheep, the rutin spend days hiking in the crags of British Columbia. Canada, to study the Id heep in their natural habitat. Campin in perpetual snow where man dim bothers the bighorn, he did Ijnv sketches of the trophy rams tefxe depicting it all on canvas. Wade, who grew up in Salt Lake Ccunty. trekked often into the nearby Wasatch Mountains, ami also the High I'intas. He did not have the benefit of a pme warden father, or an older brother expert. His mother encouraged (iim in his artistic endeavors, with jmany friends making suggestions over 1 (the vears. But basically it was the now 50-vear old wildlife enthusiast I 'stru&ling over what was to be his I fulltime profession. Due to recent transplants, Utah now lus several bands of these bighorn sheep, mostly on Mt. Nebo in southern Utah County. The state has known a fe isolated sheep, historically, in the I eastern Uintus, north of Vernal. Utah also has native populations of desert bighorn along the Colorado River on the east side of what is now Lake Powell. But in Wade's boyhood he didn't find these "exotic" species like wild sheep to paint, so concentrated on what his environment had to offer; mostly mule doer. "I had something of a love affair going for the local deer I found," he explains. "Later. I located elk in sufficient suf-ficient numbers, and switched my attention for a time to them." What all that means is that Wade learned how to depict every muscle, action, even mood of deer and elk early in life. Almost always he has painted as a hunter emphasizing the antlered animal in glory and challenge. Wade is different from many "nature lovers" in that he has hunted the big game he portrays, and excites the hunter looking on just as was the artist. It is. perhaps, one reason why he does not spend as much time on foreground grass or w illows as he does on each hair of the animal's shoulder or neck. But one thing Wade never does is paint wildlife in passive scenes. Rather, they are in the midst of an intense activity, fighting in the case of the bighorns. Yet even if merely feeding, he can make that sort of routine seem intense, since the animals are shown in the full wariness of a midweek mid-week hunting season. Wade's agent, Lyle Moss, Murray, says he never has to "explain" Dave's work, because "one glance tells it all." Then the prospective customer, whether in a Dallas gallery, or in the Beehive State, begins examining the angle of the head or front shoulder muscles. The admirer may well stand spellbound before the painting, for other than feeling the high country w ind and smelling the spruce scent, it is almost as good as the real experience. Further information on Wade's paintings may be obtained by writing to Moss, 428 Saunders St., Murray, Utah, 83107. Sportsmen can expect to hear much more from this young artist, for he appeals to the veteran outdoorsman who wants to envision or remember precious wildlife memories as they really are. In many cases it stirs the hunting instincts on a cold winter day. As for myself, I cannot view Wade's paintings without wanting to sit down and contact a good sheep guide right now w nether in Wyoming, or somewhere in the Far North. Someplace there are two giant rams butting heads as Wade has depicted. And I'd like to find either of them! |