I never get tired of watching a moose. It’s always exciting.
Even more memorable when there is a calf. Moose make the air electric.

Moose Electricity
24″ x 36″
Kroma acrylic on canvas by Raven
Art in Alaska. Story of an Alaskan artist.
by Raven
I never get tired of watching a moose. It’s always exciting.
Even more memorable when there is a calf. Moose make the air electric.
Moose Electricity
24″ x 36″
Kroma acrylic on canvas by Raven
by Raven
Suddenly, Bear
20″ x 20″ Kroma acrylic on canvas
painting by Raven
$1200.
You never know when a bear might show up. You imagine one behind every bush. But then, suddenly there is a bear. A large grizzly. My stomach turned. My husband yelled and waved his arms. I was surprised to see a look of fear in the bears face mirroring my own feelings. And then he disappeared into the brush.
by Raven
“Sterling, do you like the present I brought you?”
“Oh. Felix. It’s you again. What present?”
“Come on Sterling, are you blind? It’s right at your feet.”
“Oh no! No, No, No! That’s Robinson’s and Rosie’s egg, you dirty crumb-snatcher! Take it back. Take it back to their nest right now.”
“Why? Ravens eat eggs. Especially bite-size blue ones.”
“Not this raven. That is Robinson’s and Rosie’s egg. You take it back right now. Robinson’s song is the only thing that kept me alive during the dark time.”
“Dark time? Sterling, what are you talking about? You are a crazy old bird. Tuck your feathers back in. I’ll do what I want to do.”
“Take it back, Felix. Take it back right now.”
“Okay Okay. Forget it. Sheez.”
“Wait… Gently… Real gently. I’ll help you. You crack it and I’ll pluck your feathers.”
“Okay old bird.”
…………the next day………………..
“Sterling, what is the dark time you mentioned yesterday? You know—when I brought you the egg. You said, ‘dark time’.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do. You said Robinson’s song kept you alive.”
“Take a flight, Felix.”
“I want to know. I’m not all caw and boing.”
“You have no idea what is important in life. You’re a flimsy excuse for a feather.”
“Sterling, what’s that scar on your back?”
“None of your business.”
“I want to know. It looks like it hurt real bad.”
“You have no idea, Felix. That eagle almost killed me. Like it did Sapphire. She was gone in a flutter …I try to stop him. His claws puncture me. I wake up on the ground. Can’t move. Can’t see. Dark and grayness suffocates me. My wings ache. My head aches. I want to die. Dead silence surrounds me. But what’s that sound? I hear a pure golden melody. It dances in my head for days. I can’t move. I listen. Robinson’s song keeps me alive.”
“Sterling, who was Sapphire?”
“Scram Felix. You have a lot to learn. And I’m not going to teach you. Go away.”
“Sterling, you never go anywhere. You hide in these grizzled trees. You’re practically a fossil.”
“Get lost.”
…………later that month……………..
“I haven’t seen you for a while, Sterling. You look terrible. Have you been eating anything?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“What? Raven’s always eat. A raven not hungry—that’s not good.”
“My head hurts, I feel awful. It’s getting dark again.”
“You gotta eat, old bird! You can’t go dying on me. You can’t do that. Eat something. Anything. Here’s some crusty bread.”
“I’m too hot to eat. Just go.”
…………later………………………
“Hey Sterling—your head isn’t swollen anymore. Your feathers are bright and shimmery again!”
“It was that wing-full of snow you brought me, Felix. Where did you find icy crystals in June?”
“You need to get out of here, Sterling. This place is old and rotten.”
“You are right. Very right this time. I just realized what we are going to do.”
“We? What do you mean WE? You’ve never used that word with me before.”
“C’mon, Felix. Let’s go. You and me. Right now. I’m ready. I’m really ready. I should have figured this out a long time ago. But it wasn’t time. Now it is. Unless we chase down our fears and charge forward, our fears will chase us down. Come on. Let’s go.”
“Wait, wait. What are you talking about?”
“Felix, you and me. WE are going to chase eagles. We will chase them until their wings are too tired to fly. They won’t push us around anymore. These feathers are made for flying.”
by Raven
Feathers & Brushstrokes was an exhibit of paintings
at Well Street Art Co. Fairbanks, Alaska in February, 2021
Click on the small gallery images below to see the entire painting with their titles and prices.
Do you see a painting you want but it is already sold?
Check to see if it’s available as a PRINT.
Or contact me and we can discuss commission options.
by Raven
September in Denali Park at 6:15 p.m. Colors dance and the evening summer sun spotlights the mountain. Wonder Lake is the place to be in autumn. After a long trip on the shuttle bus, my legs were stiff and I was tired but what a sight to welcome me to the heart of Denali Park.
Dancing with Denali
painting on canvas by Raven
20″ x 20″
sold
contact me with questions or comments
Alaskan Raven Studio
PO Box 80231
Fairbanks, Alaska 99708
USA
alaskanblackbird@yahoo.com
Represented by:
Well Street Art Co.
1302 Well Street
Fairbanks, Alaska
907 452-6169
Stephan Fine Arts
939 West 5th Ave.
Anchorage, Alaska 99501
USA
(907) 274-5009
http://www.stephanfinearts.com/
I ventured to Alaska before there was an oil pipeline and fell in love with the gnarly spruce trees, intense weather and mountains I could touch. Very different from the landscape in St. Louis. I was looking for different. The spruce trees: those scraggy, wizened, lanky conifers danced onto the first page of my sketch […]