Brown Bear

This week I am working on a commission for a couple of bear "portraits." Honestly, I don't really think of myself as a wildlife painter, but I just love doing them (and do many of them). Who doesn't love a cuddly teddy bear?

If you ever, ever, ever

meet a grizzly bear,

You must never, never, never

ask him where

He is going,

Or what he is doing;

For if you ever, ever dare

To stop a grizzly bear,

You will never

Meet another grizzly bear.
Mary Austin

Remembering an Icon

Remembering an Icon

Pastel
18X22 (unframed for now)

American Buffalo, In Progress 3

American Buffalo, In Progress 2

Before I began this painting, I really did not know much about the American buffalo other than the animal as a forgotten icon of the west. As the painting progresses, I have been studying the history of the buffalo and am finding a new respect for their struggle and resilience. One author [Rinella] sums up the complexity of the buffalo as icon: “At once it is a symbol of the tenacity of the wilderness and the destruction of the wilderness; it’s a symbol of North American culture and the death of North American culture; it’s a symbol of the strength and vitality of America and the pettiness and greed of America; it represents frontier both
forgotten and remembered: it stand for freedom and captivity, extinction and salvation.”

Did you know?

1. There are 18 states with a town or city named Buffalo, though the largest, in New York State, never had a population of wild buffalo living in its vicinity.
2. Animals from singer/songwriter Neil Young’s private herd populated Kevin Costner’s 1990 film, “Dances with Wolves.”

3. Estimated numbers in 1830 = 70 - 150 million

4. 1870-1875 estimated 2,500,000 were taken annually for use by the American fur companies, sport hunting, and to deprive the Native Americans of their livelihood.

5. Less than 300 wild animals remained in the U.S. and Canada by the turn of the century out of the millions that once lived there.

6. The word “buffalo” is connected to a garment worn by the early English settlers known as the “Buff Coat.”“When Englishmen arrived in the New World, they would often describe any animal that yielded such leather as a ‘buff’….” But the name “buffalo” had already been given to the water buffalo in Asia and the Cape buffalo of Africa. Since there was nothing genetically similar about these animals, later taxonomists labeled the North American beast “bison bison.” (“Bison” means “oxlike animal.”)

7. Many of today's highways follow roadways trampled out by migrating buffalo herd.

Buffalo Study in Pastel

Switching gears a little. I am beginning a commission of an American Buffalo in pastel. Not having many buffalo in Northern Virginia (if any) to use for reference, I have chosen an image off a royalty-free photo website. I hope to change the image enough to make it my own. Above is a value and composition study done on gray Velour paper about 8X11. I like the soft effects of the pastel on velour, but can't decide if I want more texture as with the other animals I've done in pastel on watercolor paper. I have a few more days before my supplies arrive and so a few more days to decide.

Playing with Pebbles, adjustments

I added more "dimple" to his little cheeks and restated his mouth and lower lip.

Playing with Pebbles, Commission in Progress 3

I have started layering the flesh tones in his face to begin developing form and shadows. I will continue to smooth out and detail his features, correcting for size, shape, angle and value as I go.

Playing with Pebbles, Commission in Progress 2

I am continuing to work the background and have started laying in the darks on his clothing.

Playing with Pebbles, Commission in Progress

I have begun a pastel painting on pastel clayboard by Ampersand. After drawing the image on paper, I transfer the image onto the board. The pastel board is a clay and gesso coated hardboard panel with a granular textured surface comparable to a sanded pastel paper except more durable and more versatile. I chose a warm neutral "sand" color to contrast with the cool blues in the reference photo.