Absolutely stunning as usual !!! I love it !!!!!!

First-class work.Could be a fantasy book cover.

Carol it's fantastic my friend!!

fascinating image a great delight to look at

Wow, beautiful image & words. Xx

Beautifully expressed and the imagery is something special.

Outstanding work. God bless.

Beautiful.

a very soothing blend of words, thought and image

excellent

A fabulous image and what a beautiful way to use the image of your granddaughter. A lovely poem to go with it too.

Very beautifully done!

Simply stunning!

Carol, this brought tears to my eyes (reading your verse)... I came to this one (after looking at both) and thought: I love this one best...then read your words.... they SO TOUCH MY HEART!!

Thanks so much for your very lovely comment, Lyne. I'm very moved that my art and especially my prose touched your heart. Thanks for sharing that with me.

When this first went up, I was moved that you'd used a photo of your granddaughter, as well as by what you wrote about her. It makes the image even more special, because it has someone special at its core, and someone you love and think greatly of. It adds a heart of personal connection to it; and she must have a radiant soul to have inspired these words and image.

Re your poem (also written with a magical invitation, and some very sweet rhyme, line divisions, rhythms, etc), there've been a number of reports from travelers in the Himalayas of strange souls who greet lost travelers and help them on their way. No one's been able to identify these people, and no one's found their dwellings. The local legends say that they're spirits of long passed people; but whoever they are, they appear out of nowhere and guide the lost to dwellings, warmth, and protection. Your wolf moon goddess has that feeling, that spirit. A quiet guardian angel.

You've woven the wolf's howl into her skin. She's at peace, though listening; but the howl fills her. I don't know if you know what scientists think of these canine howls: In case you don't, let me tell you, because it's amazing stuff and it's wholly relevant to your image. They believe that it's the innate need of all canines to "answer back"---ie, to the calls from their families. Even after the canine has been away from their families much of their lives, they still "answer back" the minute they hear anything (anything!) that sounds like the call of their home. So they howl back, to affirm "I hear you, I'm here, I haven't left you". Even, perhaps, "come to me, re-unite with me," etc. Some of the mournfulness we hear in those howls may be the yearning to reunite with their kin. And there's a kind of 'ancient' feeling in those calls, isn't there; since the animal could be a yearning for something way, way back in his memory, which feels boundless, ancient. Thus we're not far off when we think that a dog's howl may be something from deep inside them, and sent out to some creature way beyond their reach. Even a child squealing, or a high pitched honk, or musical instrument can activate that instinct, causing the canine to jump out of 'this' moment and be transported back to some primal call of kin and origins. And so, "i am here, I hear you, I haven't left you..."

This fits into the idea of being rescued when lost; like this goddess is heeding our calls and telling us, "i hear you, I'm your long-lost sibling, and I will rescue you". (Just as those Himalayan souls do.) I often wondered if howling canines weren't calling for some kind of re-union; and this goddess is providing it, only to everyone who passes by her; at least who is sensitive to her gifts. A reunion with something primal and essential in us all...

Which is what makes the howling wolves in her back so special. And you put some native american symbols in her too, in the feathers in her hair. And her hair blossoms out like your flowers do, flowing in the wind...And she's surrounded by mist, and a sepia-toned sky, and lights, and a moon with another howling wolf; and a wolf's eye in the corner...and of course a real wolf in front, totally at ease, as if he's the guardian of her, while the others are howling across the cosmos. This is yet another of your styles, and it has mythos all over it, and an ancient call, and a lot of peace---in her aspect, in the resting wolf, and in the light that permeates the whole image. An old buddhist tale says that, at the heart of the wolf, is the inner eye of an all-knowing buddha who is forever at peace. That peace can be felt here. A beautiful image and homage to Briana; it reminds me of the buddhist spirit, Avilokiteshvara, who stands for eons and hears the cries of the needy, and grants them redemption...And I see your creation has moved other viewers greatly as well...

Thanks for your very insightful and fascinating comment, Mark. You said some things about the wolf and the howl that I didn't know, and it gave me a whole new perspective on this artwork. And for future artworks, as well. I don't know where you get this vast knowledge and awareness of so many things, but I'm glad you do. As you are always so generous in sharing this knowledge with me, and others. This painting is special to me because it features Briana. I wanted to show her loving, giving spirit in this work, and her beautiful soul. I've watched her grow up into an amazing young woman, and what a thrill to now have her become a part of my art, too. She was a great model, posing in her bikini on a rather chilly Christmas eve morning, against a blue tarp background that was set up in the backyard. It has rained earlier and it was not an easy shoot. But she was a trooper and was thrilled with what I created. It is always a wonderful feeling to emotionally touch people with my art and words, as it inspires me to keep creating and keep digging deeper.