Here's the story that goes with the painting as told by John Gabriel.

      Years back I was ice fishing at my mom’s place in Nekoosa county, Wisconsin. I was the only one on the lake that day, and was sitting there patiently, staring down at the hole in the ice. I recall at one point, sensing I was being watched and slowly glanced up from the ice.
Not more than 40 feet from me was this small picture perfect deer. It stood motionless with its eyes intensely staring at me.

        Yeah, just like a deer in headlights. And then, as if I was watching a movie in slow motion, the deer’s legs began to do a long drawn out, four legged split onto the ice. My natural instincts kicked in before my common sense and I leaped up and shouted out, “You’re going to fall, you idiot.” I felt my right leg follow my right foot and go plunging all the way into the hole I augured in the ice.

       At that juncture I felt abrupt pain as a precise part of my body crashed into the ice. With diluted eyes, I forced myself to roll onto my back and painfully pulled my leg from the hole. Still on my back, I searched with my eyes for the deer. I found him standing on shore and he gave me a fleeting glance just before fading into the woods.

It was a glance as to say, “Yeah, but you fell into the hole, you idiot.”

Story provided by John Gabriel