Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/433799
S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S 2 1 2 autumn splendor by persis clayton weirs courtesy wild wings , inc. L ed by a Horse Downeaster Persis Clayton Weirs, born on Deer Island, Maine, was 16 when she got her first horse—an eternity to wait for a youngster who dreamed, since being knee-high, of owning one. Her passion for horses, combined with her formidable talent, led her first to be an equine artist, selling paintings by the score at such prestigious events as the Washington International Horse Show, as well as numerous commissions. When her children were babies, she remained close to home, with her only exhibits being at local banks and galleries plus the occasional art show. Still, the natural beauty and creatures that surrounded her Deer Island home impelled her to paint the local land and waters. Millette's fierce love of Maine, fueled by her encyclopedic knowledge of equine anatomy and the fluidity of a horse's different gaits, eased her transition into this genre, and brought her unexpected but immediate recognition through the publication of her work in the now-defunct Wildlife Art News. "At the time, my children were about eight and nine years old," she says. "My husband was so excited about my work getting published that he made a few slides of my wildlife art and sent them to Wild Wings. One week later they called me and I've been with them ever since." Her affiliation with Wild Wings led her to expand her wildlife art to include animal species native to the western U.S. In Autumn Splendor, a massive male grizzly scrutinizes the viewer, his sculpted muscles tensed beneath his fur. Weathered moose antlers in the foreground direct the eye to his intent visage, wreathed by ominous storm clouds over an icy-blue mountain river. Weirs' portrayals of Maine wildlife—whether deer, moose, elk, bear, bald eagles, turkeys, geese, mallards, wood ducks, or loons—dominate their environs, even when those settings depict one of the state's iconic covered bridges. Her choice of luminous, unmuted pigments for her wildlife subjects conjures up the Pine Tree State's crystalline, pine-scented atmosphere. "I feel so blessed to have this gift that has given me and my family such a wonderful life," she says, adding that she honors the horses that propelled her along this path by donating to equine rescues and shelters across the country. S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S 2 1 2