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Mountain Spirit

Re-creating the Appalachian hunter of the late eighteenth century is a coal miner who spends his working day deep in the earth, and chooses to live on a mountain top farm in West Virginia. An expert hunter with deep respect and concern for wildlife, he is shown sharing with the red-tailed hawk this space where the earth and sky meet. To me, this image symbolizes the spirit of the mountains.
The character in this painting is more representative of the Davy Crockett type than what is believed to be the frontiers-man of the Eighteenth Century East. He is, however, the personification of the legendary West Virginia Mountaineer, mascot of all who call this state home.