Description

Misunderstood by P. Buckley Moss

Content & Subject

Misunderstood by P. Buckley Moss is a signed and numbered limited edition giclée that captures the quiet dignity and natural beauty of a creature often overlooked: the raccoon. Part of Moss’s Fall Collection and Animal Collection, this artwork is both tender and symbolic, reflecting the artist’s gift for portraying the spirit of animals with empathy and grace.

The composition features a raccoon perched on a warm red stone, its fur painted in soft layers of browns, grays, and whites. Its inquisitive gaze is alert yet gentle, inviting viewers to see it not as a nuisance but as a resilient and resourceful part of nature’s design. Behind it, delicate branches with tiny blue leaves weave across a glowing background of orange, gold, and teal, suggesting the vibrancy of autumn twilight. The raccoon stands as both subject and symbol—reminding us of nature’s balance, adaptability, and misunderstood beauty.

Style & Technique

In Misunderstood, Moss blends her folk art sensitivity with a more detailed naturalist’s approach. The raccoon is painted with fine attention to texture, from the softness of its fur to the striking black mask across its face. The giclée process preserves these details while highlighting the luminous watercolor washes in the background. The interplay of warm autumn oranges and cool teal blues creates depth and contrast, allowing the raccoon to stand in quiet prominence. Moss’s use of fine linework for the branches adds a lyrical quality, as if the scene were humming with life.

Mood & Inspiration

The mood of this artwork is contemplative, empathetic, and quietly powerful. Moss was inspired not only by the natural world but also by the idea of finding beauty in the overlooked and misunderstood. The raccoon, often seen as mischievous, is here reimagined as a creature of dignity and resilience, perfectly at home in the woods and fields of autumn. Misunderstood invites viewers to reconsider first impressions and to see the world through a more compassionate lens.

Placement & Gift Ideas

With its bold subject and rich seasonal colors, Misunderstood makes a striking piece for display in living rooms, studies, or nature-themed spaces. It also pairs beautifully with rustic or lodge-style décor, where its woodland imagery can shine.

This artwork makes a thoughtful gift for wildlife enthusiasts, animal lovers, or collectors of Moss’s animal pieces. It is also meaningful as a symbolic gift for someone who identifies with the theme of being “misunderstood” yet strong, resilient, and uniquely beautiful.

Includes a Certificate of Authenticity. (see FAQs)

About the Raccoon

Though previously thought to be solitary, there is now evidence that raccoons engage in gender-specific social behavior. Related females often share a common area, while unrelated males live together in groups of up to four animals to maintain their positions against foreign males during the mating season, and other potential invaders. Home Range sizes vary anywhere from 3 hectares (7.4 acres) for females in cities to 5,000 hectares (12,000 acres) for males in Prairies.. After a gestation period of about 65 days, two to five young, known as “kits”, are born in spring. The kits are subsequently raised by their mother until dispersal in late fall. Although captive raccoons have been known to live over 20 years, their life expectancy in the wild is only 1.8 to 3.1 years. In many areas, hunting  and vehicular injury are the two most common causes of death.

2016

Image Size: 6-3/4 x 7 inches.