Animals & Figures: Animals
A Good Summer for Berries--Kodiak Bear
, oil on panel, 18" x 18", I was commissioned to paint this famous movie bear, Bart, see publications. He was a Kodiak Bear and I did this from footage that was given to me by Colorado State Veterinarian College.
It took a lot of practice to learn how to execute in either pencil or paint all of the animals that I have portrayed in my life. Each species has its’ own distinct characteristics that an artist needs to capture in order to convey the essence of the animal. I always place the animals in the correct natural environments where they live. The berries in A Good Summer for Berries grow on a plant in Alaska called “Devil’s Club”. These plants grow as tall as a single story house, so the size of the bear’s head in relation to the plant gives the viewer the scale of the bear. The eyes are so important in an artwork depicting an animal. Underneath every painting of either people or animals is an elaborate, exact drawing that then gets covered up with paint.
