This is a hand signed matted 8"x8" print of an original watercolor painting titled "Kya the Stripe Skunk". Each image is printed with archival inks on watercolor paper stock for a long lasting print resistant to fading. For every print sold, I will be donating 10% of the profit to wildlife rehab facilities, organizations & sanctuaries.
The Story Behind the Art: I met Kya the striped skunk in the summer of 2023. Almost every evening that summer, I would sit on our back steps and watch her emerge from our meadow to forage under our silver maple tree. She loved to munch on the mealworms that the birds had flung from the feeder. She would notice me as I watched her and as her gaze held mine it felt like she knew my heart. Kya brought me a lot of joy that summer and to honor my connection with her I absolutely had to paint her portrait to remember her by.
Striped skunks are native to North America and are the most common skunks found here. These nocturnal animals are known for their potent spraying defense mechanism against offending creatures. However, many people don’t realize that skunks don’t spray right away. They typically stomp their feet, arch their back and raise their tail as a warning to back up.
Skunks are solitary animals and can often be found living in abandoned dens of other mammals, hollowed logs, brush piles or beneath buildings during the day. They prefer underground dens during the winter and have periods of extended inactivity, but do not hibernate. When it comes to food, striped skunks are opportunistic feeders. During the spring and summer, they eat mostly insects including grasshoppers, beetles, crickets, and bees. During the winter months, this diet changes to a more carnivorous diet including small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and fish.
Skunks are very beneficial to our ecosystem because they are predators of insects and this helps to keep the insect population under control!
