Wadlington's grandmother in California had a koi pond in her backyard, and she was both curious and fearful of the fish growing up: “When you would feed them, they’d go into a frenzy and their large, gaping mouths would emerge. They’re so bulky and fleshy, and when they come above water there’s something very bodily about them, like wet, naked skin.” Here, Wadlington's unique use of perspective is especially apparent, as the tilted elevation of the pond takes on the feeling of a stage or a painting all its own. This aspect is accentuated by the use of exterior spotlights surrounding the boundaries of the water. The koi are situated at the front of the stage, as if the viewer might be taking place in the feeding themselves. The pond is a gradient of color, reflecting and filtering the underwater illumination within.

Here, a stray cat takes her place at the center of the action, perched atop a small patio table; the figure in the wicker chair reacts to its presence and waits for its next move. As with many of the artist’s narratives, the animal is the central figure, and humans bend and adjust to their company. Wadlington talks about the awe and fear that animals can instill in us, and Backyard is exemplary; it’s hard to tell if the figure is removing her glass from the cat’s reach or if she is offering it a drink, as the narrative is frozen in a moment of uncertainty. “This piece is a story of interspecies support and dependency, but also portrays the resistance we sometimes have to sharing,” she says. The backyard is a space where domesticated and wild animals might interact, and provides a small haven to experience nature: “Many of us spend a lot of time in backyards as kids. They’re highly cultivated and domesticated spaces, but nature can still surprise you even there.”

Wadlington often walks in a nearby park that acts as a habitat for some local wildlife as well as a place for dogs to play. As the dogs come and go, the wildlife runs for cover, as snapping turtles retreat underwater and birds fly away: “It’s like there are two different parks depending on whether the dogs are there or not.” The work depicts an encounter with one of the park’s “unnerving” snapping turtles, and the dog recoils in fear as the figure curiously engages. Colors within the work are selected for the time of day, where a setting sun sets the river on fire and a cool light entering the frame casts a blue glow on the trees and grasses. Wadlington’s careful treatment of natural materials is apparent in the thick strokes of paint she weaves together to create the figure’s straw hat. All three bodies are brought to the front of the image and exemplifies the compression of two dimensional space as the winding river expands and retreats behind them. Wadlington likens her compositions to that of patchwork quilts, where each element is separate but of equal relevance and as a result, all receive vibrant color and detail.

“Here I’m thinking of these shallow, clear, snow melt streams that you see in the Sierras in the summer. The water is really cold and clear, and the rainbow trout are so easy to spot because of this. The streams run over these river rocks that are very smooth from the water rushing through.” Wadlington admits being tempted to take a few of these beautiful rocks home with her, but resists the urge in acknowledgment of the fragile nature of ecosystems. While we look to corporations and policy for responsibility around macro ecosystems, every single one of us has the power to nurture or disrupt the micro ecosystems around us. The artist speaks often about the undeniability of our presence on earth together with nature and our need for resources, but is hopeful about honest discussions in conservationist circles about how to be able to take and still give back.

Thirsty Dog depicts a figure on a hike with her dog. The landscape is arid, and as she pours water into her hand for the dog to lap up, it drips down, creating a puddle below. The piece was inspired by a recent group hike Wadlington took, where one of the hikers had an old dog with her that struggled to keep up. “The environment in the painting is dry, as water is becoming an increasingly scarce resource. Perhaps I’m thinking about the place domestic pets hold in our hearts in the face of a resource crisis.” The figure’s arm creates a protective canopy over the dog, and her lower hand seems both stretched outward for him to drink as well as tilted to the viewer to present the water. The gravity-defying curve of the stream of liquid from the bottle echoes the winding rivers in Wadlington’s other works, reinforcing the need we have for clean systems to provide us with water to drink.

With this piece, Wadlington was interested in capturing the emotive and physical transformation of a backyard in darkness: “It seems much bigger and maybe more scary at night. In the summer, the cement might still be warm from the sun, but the grass is cold and wet. The sky glows from smog and light pollution.” The central figure crouches in response to the owl above, her body folded on a patch of concrete that resembles a raft, floating in the blue grass. The palette of chilly tones — including the cool cast on the figure’s flesh — is reminiscent of Gertrude Abercrombie’s surrealist mindscapes, often set in night time dreams with only the moon’s glow as a soft source of light.

Spilling Coffee presents a moment of shared frustration between human and animal, even if for different reasons. As she sits outside at a patio table, the figure is shown frozen at the moment her coffee jumps off the ice in her glass, spilling everywhere but the cup. Simultaneously, her house cat stares as a bird flies by the window out of reach. Many domestic cats very rarely make it outdoors, but their instincts to hunt birds remain intact, often clawing at the window frantically when one comes into view. Outdoor cats, on the other hand, are successful bird hunters and are responsible for the deaths of an estimated 2.4 billion birds a year in North America, establishing them as "the number-one direct, human-caused threat to birds." (abcbirds.org). This challenge to providing our pets balance between life indoors and out - where they are able to best nurture their instincts — is again considered, highlighting this ongoing need for balance and care.