This is an impressionist photo art painting of a European pine marten camouflaged among trees, moving busily from branch to branch looking for food. He was very bright eyed and very active. He was also well hidden and I had a long wait before he showed enough of himself for a photograph of his head. This stylized image emphasises how far the animal was inside the tree canopy. It is quite unusual to see more than a glimpse of them as they move fast and prefer to stay hidden during the day, coming out at night. They are carnivores but actually eat a range of food. I see them quite often enjoying the fruit trees! They are about the size of a small domestic cat and have brown fur and a cream coloured bib that is quite striking. You can't really see it here, but they have a long bushy tail.
Italy has two varieties of marten, the pine marten and the stone marten. The easiest way to tell them apart is their nose, the pine marten's is dark brown while the stone marten's is pale pink.
Born in the South of England I now live half way up a mountain in Umbria, Italy. I work from my art studio looking out over fabulous views of the Italian countryside. I am so happy to share my artwork with you.
An artist and writer, I specialize..
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