A north-east artist has wowed judges in the US after depicting a breathtaking encounter with nature in the Californian wilderness in miniature.
Culter-based painter, Jenny Musker, was given an honourable mention at the 23rd Annual International Miniature Show at Kirkland in Washington for her 3.5in by 5in painting “The Lone Ranger”.
The striking image shows a solitary coyote at the head of a woodland-covered valley in California’s Yosemite National Park.
It was inspired by a genuine encounter with one of the predators in the mountain range while Mrs Musker and her husband Chris were trekking with friends.
Her work was one about 300 entries selected at the awards and is now on display at the Parklane Gallery at Kirkland.
Mrs Musker specialises in artwork ranging in size from as small as stamps to as large as postcards.
The 39-year-old said receiving the accolade felt like “the icing on the cake” after years of commitment to the craft.
She added: “I would have loved to have been there. It was just brilliant, I was actually really surprised to get in as well, it is amazing to get an award.
“I went to Yosemite National Park a couple of years back for a holiday, a working holiday I guess,
“I was taking photographs as well. We were out doing a hike and we came across this coyote. I had my long lens.
“This coyote stood there for so long, I just got closer and closer to it.”
Mrs Musker said her frequent hikes up Scottish Munros inspired her art work.
She said: “I like doing the Munros, myself and my husband have been doing them for about 10 to 15 years. It takes you to places you don’t even know. That’s often generates the reference for me.”
She added that she would be submitting further art work to the World Miniature Art Exhibition at Johannesburg in South Africa next year.
Her work can be found just now in The Milton Gallery at Crathes.