Artist: Judy Larson
Title: The Defiant (Fifth in the On the Run Series )
Image Size: 18" x 21 3/4" (Canvas Giclee 19" x 23")
Edition: Artist Hand Signed and Numbered Limited Edition to 1000 (Canvas Giclee to 200 )
Medium: Fine Art Lithograph on Paper and Canvas Giclee
About the Art: In her On the Run series, artist Judy Larson focuses on animals that either find, or have found, themselves in dire circumstances. The Defiant is inspired by a heartbreaking chapter in history.

“The year was 1858, and several companies of soldiers under the leadership of Colonel George Wright were engaged in a punitive military expedition against the Native American tribes, Yakama, Spokane, Palouse and Coeur d’Alene,” explains Judy Larson. “On the morning of September 8, Colonel Wright and his troops spotted a large cloud of dust which revealed the position of 800 Palouse horses. Although a valiant effort was made by the tribes to drive their horses into the mountains, after a fierce skirmish, the majority of the herd was captured. Although it was a crime to kill a horse on the frontier, it was Wright’s job to subdue the tribes’ powerful hold over their land and to demoralize them. It took the better part of two days to shoot, club and kill all the horses and, as the Native Americans watched helplessly from the hills, they could not believe what they saw. Today, along the banks of the Spokane River, a monument marks the site that became known as Horse Slaughter Camp.”

LOOK CLOSER... Through her unique scratchboard and concealment technique, Judy Larson has immortalized, in the coats of these three horses “on the run,” two other members of the herd and a soldier giving chase.

In her On the Run series, artist Judy Larson focuses on animals that find themselves in dire circumstances. Across North America, the wilderness and all that is wild and free, continue to slowly disappear. For Judy Larson, whose underlying message is always passionately ecological, her medium of scratchboard, as well as her “art of concealment, allows her “to take the viewer with me.” Explains Larson,“My desire is to engage viewers on three levels: first, by revealing the beauty of animals through intricate detail; second, by concealing a hidden image that draws the viewer to examine the painting more closely and through which I can tell a story; and third, by promoting a deeper awareness of the environment on a level that will hopefully have an impact.”

In the On the Run series animals find themselves in critical situations all across North America. Concealed within each image one can find either the spirits of missing companions or the shadows of their persecutors. Judy Larson’s unique artistic signature is her meticulous scratchboard technique and “art of concealment”. With her dedication to the natural environment and aptitude for explicit detail, it’s not surprising that Larson would choose an art process that has deep roots and demands exacting skill. Larson uses a clay-coated, Masonite backed art board called Claybord®. To produce an original drawing, she paints the subject solidly with black India ink to create a silhouette. Larson then scratches away the dried ink using hundreds of XActo® blades and the result is a magnificent, lifelike image. Once the subject has been totally scratched, it is a finished black and white illustration, ready for Larson to add color. Larson prefers a combination of airbrush, gouache or acrylics for adding rich layers of color, with frequent rescratching for detail.