The mountain lion was nearly annihilated at the beginning of the 20th century by ranchers and hunters. Since the 1960s, however, the mountain lion population has rebounded thanks to new protective laws. In artist Daniel Smith's home state of Montana, the growing number of cougars has created some overlap in territory between the wild and civilization. A great cat sitting at the edge of a driveway is a sight that has become all too familiar to many residents, including Daniel Smith, who recently looked up into a tree on his property to find a cougar wrapped around the upper branches like an overgrown kitten.

The mountain lion in Smith's newest painting, however, is in his glory in the wild. Smith's detailed style captures the curl of the cougar's tail and the tension in his muscles so realistically that you may feel the need to slowly back away from this cat On the Edge.