Biggie...

This little painting is of a bear cub known as 'Biggie' who lives in Katmai National Park.  She is the daughter of Grazer, an infamously fierce bear who will attack any other bear that even looks at her cubs!  Biggie was one of two cubs, the other unfortunately got killed in it's first few months of life by one of the other male bears.  Biggie however has survivied and thrived.

This was painted in acrylics on canvas and is only about A3 size.  It will be in my Etsy shop soon.

 

Next up - I found a lovely wooden treasure chest box in a shop a couple of weeks ago that I will be painting... 

Interlude...

While I was between commissions at the weekend, I wanted to paint a little watercolour just to get back into the swing of using a paintbrush after pencilling for the past few weeks.  This painting is based on a scene I saw on the Explore.org bear cams a couple of weeks ago.  I haven't quite captured the light I wanted to, but I love the granulation on the bears.  It will do!

The commission I have just begun consists of a very large watercolour portrait - I drew it out yesterday and cannot wait to get started with the paint!
 

Not Otis...

 After painting two trinket boxes with a picture of Otis the bear on the lid, it was a welcome change to be asked to paint this gorgeous mother bear and cub.  This is bear 910 and her adorable little one, as seen at Brooks Falls, Katmai Nation Park, Alaska.

Because the lid painting is so light, I made the decision to paint the rest of the box a light blue to match the water rather than the usual black.  It's going to look good - I just have to add the lining fabric and it is done, well in time for Christmas.

I've also been fulfilling some more stuffed Otis orders and have more stuffed cub toys on the go. On the easel is a pet portrait - it's been a while since I did one of those!

Baby Bear & Pal...

I completed this yesterday, a young bear cub taking a rest in the long grass and being watched by a gull.  This is watercolour on paper and a private commission.

 

Holly's Little Fuzzy...

I made this the other day - I had found the perfect fabric on line for a reasonable price.  This is based on a bear cub seen this year on the Explore.org cams that kept us entertained for the whole summer.

She belongs to last year's Fat Bear winner, Holly 135, and was a force to be reckoned with - she fearlessly climbed high trees, she had an unfortunate encounter with a porcupine that left her limping for weeks, she played with the cubs from other bear families (very unusual) and grew fatter and fluffier day by day.

I may, however, have shot myself in the foot with this one - it found a home almost immediately and I have orders for five more...

Christmas...

Here is the first commission this year for a Christmas present - bear 135 Holly, with her cub 719 and her adopted cub 503.  I thoroughly enjoyed painting this one - watercolour on paper. One down, three to go...

I'm still making masks when I have a minute or two spare.  I love the print on this autumn themed one.

I am also making some in Christmas themed fabric - if we have to wear masks this Christmas, we might

as well make them jolly!
 

Grazer & Peanut...

Just finished this wonderful commission for a friend of mine - the bears Grazer 128 and her daughter, Peanut 902.  Peanut is now a full grown bear, but was the tiniest and most frail looking little cub, the runt of the litter.  Looks can be deceiving though, she was feisty and strong and survived to adulthood with no problems.

This has been painted in watercolour on paper.

Next on the easel - bears, bears, bears!  I am now officially fully booked until January 2021.
 

Crochet & Bears...

 Among other things, I have still been using crochet as a comforting activity in the evenings - this is the third throw I have crocheted (not quite finished yet) since being in lockdown.  I used another set of the wonderful Papatya yarn cakes in a rainbow mix this time.

I've also had this sweet commission - it's a repeat of a painting I did last year, but thankfully that was long enough ago for this not to be boring.  Interesting to see the difference in colours used this time compared to last time when I had cataracts.

I think you can say my colour vision has improved a little!

Now It's Finished...

I left this one for a couple of days, added a bit more shading under the chin and round the neck then decided there was no more I could do to it.  Watercolour on paper, private commission.

No other commissioned work at the moment - I guess I cleared the decks well and truly before my eye surgery!  So I am working on something of my own in the meantime - if you would like to commission me, I'm free!

Slurping Salmon...

I've been working on this since my eye surgery - so good to be able to paint sitting properly and without getting a headache at the end of it.  This is a private commission of a cute bear cub using nearly all his paws to hold the salmon he is eating.  It may or may not be finished - I need to leave it for a day or so and think about that.  Watercolour on paper.

Baby Bear Bauble...

Painted yesterday with the aid of magnifying lens head set - no way could I paint this without help!  For sale in my Etsy shop.

Apples & Bears...

 I finally sat down and made a concerted effort to finish this little painting yesterday.  As it is the first painting since my eye op, I'm very happy how it has turned out.  I've had to change my painting position a little to account for the fact I cannot wear my reading/painting glasses any more so have to wear the varifocals with one lens missing.  It means I have to sit back a bit (better posture at least!) but after a while you get used to it. 

This is a watercolour on tinted paper and will be in my Etsy shop soon.

Last year we had only two apples on our tree - this year it appears to have over-compensated!  This box load is from one branch alone.  I don't know what to do with them all - how can I store them without them going bad?  There are only so many crumbles and pies we can eat...

Holiday Sketches...

 The view from our holiday cabin in Devon was stunning and I wanted to get it down on paper if I could.  The only problem was that if I sat down, I could not see it!  So this small painting was achieved standing up with the pad in one hand, brush in other, and paints on the coffee table.  Not my chosen way of working but I am pleased with how it turned out.

 The second sketch was a closer study of the water - this one I could do from a chair on the balcony, the only problems being the very bright sunlight and the dog drinking my paint water.

Interestingly, with each day that passes I am noticing that the eye I had the cataract removed from sees colour so much brighter now.  I am wondering just how badly having cataracts has affected my colour perception when painting - probably just as well I have been painting brown bears a lot!  I just cannot wait for the other eye to be done.

Hopefully now the catching up from being on holiday is done, I can get back to this little cutie - he's already got a buyer so I had better get a move on!

Taking It Slow...

I had drawn this picture out before my eye op, then ruined it a few days ago by painting in a background that looked like a five year old had done it.  So I started it again and yesterday began painting - it's a bit difficult with my 'new' eye and my old glasses, but I need the glasses in order to focus this close.  I can work for about an hour before getting tired - that's OK, there is no hurry.  I'm just glad to be able to put brush to paper!

Baby Bear...

Currently on the drawing board, bear 451 and her cubs.  Just the one cub completed for now.

Bears seem to have taken over my life lately - I've always liked them and painted them from time to time over the years, but the past two or three years it seems to have snowballed.  Since watching the Explore.org live cams I've got to know people all over the world that share my interest and who have wanted to buy my work, whether it is a painting or a stuffed bear.  I'm definitely not complaining - I love what I do and if I happen to get paid for it as well, all the better!

And later in the month I get to go and hand feed a pair of brown bears at the Wildlife Trust in Kent - a highly anticipated birthday present!  There will also be other animals to see there such as wolves, bison, lynx, and many more that used to be indigenous to Britain.  My camera will be working overtime!

Work In Progress & Some Very Tiny Bears...

 I started this one last week - it seemed a good idea at the time until I started painting the water!  However, after a bit of a think and breaking it down into just shapes, the painting turned out to be successful.  The photo I am workingon is quite dark so I have had to lighten the bear's face considerably but I am very pleased with how it is going so far.  Watercolour on paper.

I am in the process of packing up and sending the stuffed Otis toys and thought it might be fun to pop a little extra in each parcel.  This is a very miniature mother bear & cub - the cub is just over an inch long.  As he was knitted on 1.5mm needles, I am not sure there will be many more of them!  See, when you buy from me you never know what you might get!

Peanut & A Lily...

It was a wet and blustery day today, the kind of day you stay in and get on with some painting!  Here is the bear 902 aka Peanut/Fifi when she was a cub.  I've painted her a few times, mainly because she was just so cute but also because she defied the odds and despite being the tiny, skinny runt of the litter, survived and thrived to adulthood.  Last seen in the autumn of 2018 at Brooks Falls, Katmai National Park, looking very fat and ready for hibernation.  I can;t wait to see her return in the Spring!

I have also re-vamped the lily painting - I like using paint dribbles on my paintings but this time it didn't work at all.  So I painted the whole background gold and am happy with it now.  Once I can photograph it in the daylight (there was not much of that today) it will go up for sale in my Etsy shop.

Velcro & 273

Just completed a lovely commission, the bear 273 with her cub Velcro who live in Katmai National Park, Alaska.  Velcro is now on his own and a lot larger than when this photo was taken!

Watercolour on paper, reference photo by kind permission of Carla Farris.

A Sad Tale With A Happy Ending...

Finished this today - this is a painting of a bear known as 451 who lives at Katmai National Park, Alaska. She has quite a story:

Back in 2015 when I started to watch the bears on Explore.org, there was a sow with two cubs. One day in the autumn after the visitors' camp had shut down for the season, one of the cubs staggered and collapsed by the side of the road right in front of one of the cameras. All of us who watched the cams were transfixed, waiting to see what would happen. Over three days the poor cub got weaker and weaker and finally died. The mother bear (451) sat next to him with the other cub the whole time, only leaving for a short breaks to catch a fish or two. When the cub was dead, she sat vigil over him for a whole night.

The next day the rangers came in a boat to remove the body for autopsy - they too had seen events over the cams and it was a golden opportunity for scientific investigation. When they arrived, 451 and her remaining cub walked slowly down the road, far enough away for the rangers to safely take the cub. After they had gone, she sat there where her cub had lain for the rest of the day. The whole thing was heartbreaking - I've always believed animals feel emotions and bereavement and this just proved it as far as I was concerned. 451 and her cub eventually slowly walked away and that was the last we saw of her that year.

The following year we hoped to see her return from hibernation with her cub. Sadly there was only one sighting of her limping past one of the cams...on her own. Again, desperately sad.

However, last year at the start of the season 451 showed up at Katmai with three tiny cubs! I was overjoyed to see this! I had watched her with her dying cub every waking minute I could, even taking the kindle to bed with me to check throughout the night as I was so emotionally involved and moved by her plight, so to see her with three healthy cubs and healthy herself was wonderful.

This painting was completed in watercolours using as reference a photograph taken by someone who was actually at Brooks Camp in the autumn, and who kindly gave me permission to use it.

Mystery Solved...

 I had a reply to my question, this wolf is apparently Nuka!  So glad to be able to title my painting properly.

This is not how I pictured this painting in my head, but it is progressing along quite nicely anyway.  This is bear 451 and her cubs from Brooks Falls, Katmai National Park - she has quite a story whcih I shall tell when the painting is finished.