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Watercolour number 2 Autumn 25 series is a vibrant watercolour painting. The piece has a combination of hot reds, yellows, and cool greens and blues. It's a sunny piece, perfect for warmer coloured wall spaces.

Part of a series of six paintings, this is the second piece in the series. The painting is of a red squirrel. This beautiful rodent painting shows the squirrel running with a walnut in its mouth, giving the piece a sense of movement and dynamism.

The painting style is illustrative, abstract, and naive realism. There is motion in the marks. You can see the pencil through the brush strokes, and dashes of black and white ink give the piece a sense of energy that brings the squirrel to life.

The final original painting has a natural wax medium finish. The glaze gives the piece beautiful depth and a natural shine. I mounted the artwork on acid-free, archival mount board. 

This watercolour is ready to hang on your wall. This painting comes with a magnetic float mount, and is so light, you'll find it easy to place it where you want it.

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WATERCOLOUR NUMBER TWO, AUTUMN 25 SERIES, IS ABOUT ALERTNESS.

The painting shows a red squirrel running with a nut in its mouth. I worked to capture the energy and tenacity to survive I see in these wild acrobats.

Squirrels have a dynamic passion for life.

They are fierce and territorial. There are so many in the woods.

Almost every winter to early spring morning, they climb all over my door and roof. They try to wake me, so I'll feed them.

I always do, along with all the other animals here. Winter is tough. Squirrels will fight each other and other animals for nuts.

They have a ferocity that is comical for such a small animal.

They sound off in trees, roaring in squeaky blasts that mimic dog toys. To them, it is power, danger, and severity, even if to me it's reason to laugh.

They wrestle with each other and other animals, like rats, for food. The competition is constant in the forest.

All these treetop ninja battles teach me how much they love life. They fight for life. Never giving up.

I take inspiration from that insatiable thirst for life. They are pure movement. Elegant like trapeze artists. Fast like race cars. Dynamic like tiny bulldozers cutting tracks in piles of leaves.

All that rushing is an expression of devotion to living.

They never give up, and they teach me that no matter the challenge or adversary, to give it everything I have.

They inspire me to strive forward regardless of frustration, fear, or sadness. They have incredible resilience.

I remember there was one squirrel, I used to call it 'tatty squirrel' because it was balding and scarred.

She fought every animal, but other squirrels. Ironic, as some larger birds most squirrels won't touch. Yet she always let other squirrels win the food.

Although I had no other evidence than behaviour, I assumed she was the elder mother squirrel. 

I always fed her. And before she died, she came into the cabin to say goodbye. After that, she was gone.

She taught me resilience and a tenacity for life that doesn't end with death.

The way I painted Watercolour 2 Autumn 25 Series was a multi-layered approach. I wanted to blend the abstract with the figurative to bring out the spirit of the animal.

I wanted to capture that love of life in this watercolour, and that's what this painting is about.