The Cinnamon Teal is widely distributed in western North America, and I saw my first wild ones in the glowing light of early morning in a mirror-smooth pond that reflected the Colorado Rockies, the beautifully sun-struck ducks gliding serenely through the upside down image of the snow-capped mountains and yellow-leafed aspens. It was beautiful, but I got my idea for this painting during one of my numerous visits to California, when I saw a drake resting motionless, at right angles to me, in a shallow slough. The plumage was nicely fluffed and rounded, presenting a broad expanse of the cinnamon colouring that gives the bird its English name. As is so often true of ducks, the feathers of the flanks and the back nearly obscured much of the wing. I framed the painting and hung it in the family room, where it has been for years, but age and the need to downsize forces me to find new homes for such paintings. This one is approximately life-sized.