Photo Stories of Animal Encounters

PIKAS

Minny Pika in Rocky Mountain National Park

Photographing animals while on vacation became a delightful diversion for Joan starting in the 1970's when she met her first pika in Wyoming. More pikas were found on backpacking trips in the mountains all over the western U.S. and Canadian Rockies. She created watercolor paintings of the pikas and started Pika Works to sell her line of greeting cards. Joan is still seeking to take the perfect pika picture.

MOOSE

Moose came into the picture while skiing out the back door in Vermont. Dolly and her yearling daughter Molly were in the middle of the ski trail as winter ended in 2001. Joan took loads of photos over a number of days and eventually made many acrylic paintings from them. Moonlit Molly in the Navy Blue Night has been popular for years. The latest moose encounter was in the Wind Rivers of Wyoming in 2019.

COWS & HORSES IN THE DOLOMITES OF ITALY

Dolomiti 2014

Venice 2014

In 1996, Joan's vacation trips became hiking hut to hut in the Dolomite Mountains of northern Italy. Here she would walk through mountain pastures and meet cows and horses up close. Not surprisingly, cows and horses started to take shape on the easel. Please take a journey with her on the latest trip in 2014 and meet some of these animals. No trip to Italy is complete without a visit to Venice where you may wander along the Grand Canal, visit Murano and Burano and find delectable cookies along the way.

PHOTO SAFARIS IN KENYA

Description of Joan's First Photo Safari

Joan's first trip to Kenya was in 2011 when she saw more animals than she could ever have imagined. She describes that first amazing visit at the top. Follow through the years of photos and observe a variety of scenes from elephant naps, dangerous river crossings, or giraffe mamas protecting their babies to frolicking zebras, necking giraffes, and wildebeest indecision. The beautiful lilac breasted roller (shown below) is scattered throughout.

PHOTO STORIES OF ANIMAL ENCOUNTERS -- CLOSE TO HOME AND FAR AWAY