Artist Rod Frederick is a master of painting animals in their natural habitats. He captures a world full of wide vistas, soaring trees, sky-scraping mountains -- and that’s just the backdrop for his spectacular wildlife. He’s also known for using canvases of extreme dimensions, each chosen to best suit the vibrant and sweeping panorama of the Northern Rockies wilderness.

“I can get so caught up in the excitement of watching elk,” says Frederick of the subject of “Homeland Challenge.” This scene, set during the mating season, is as familiar to Rod Frederick as his backyard and could be almost anywhere in the Rocky or Cascade mountain ranges. Once found all across North America, elk have historically lived in many types of habitat. They've learned how to survive with different foods, weather, cover and neighbors.