747, A Magnificent Bear...

 I can finally reveal this painting as it has been delivered to its very surprised and delighted recipient!

This is bear 747 who lives in Katmai National Park, Alaska and is one of the biggest bears around.  He is fairly battered - you may notice that he has only one ear showing in the painting - his other ear was nearly torn off a few years ago, presumably in a fight with another bear, and is now just a loose furry nub.  It doesn't detract from his good looks however!  747 was one of the most dominant bears at Brooks Falls for many years, although he is aging now and not quite so aggressive - I wouldn't mess with him though!

I was asked to paint this bear, 747, by a photographer as a present for a mutual friend.  The photograph he supplied me with was in black and white and showed this amazing bear in all his glory.  I did not use black as such in my painting as I felt it would make the picture flat and a bit lifeless, so I used Payne's Grey for most of it which gives a slightly blue tinge, and black for the deeper shadows.

This is a fairly large painting, watercolour on paper.  I have left a large expanse of white paper at the top of the picture as I felt it added something to the over all effect.

I loved painting this, and was very sorry when it was finished - I did get myself a print made so that he wasn't completely gone!

Otis...

 A few weeks ago I bought a black canvas - I thought it would be an interesting experiment to paint on rather than having to put on several layers of black paint in order to create the surface.  The subject was of course Otis - I have painted him on a black background on many trinket boxes, but this would be the first time on an actual canvas.

I had the same smallproblems with the canvas as I do on the trinket boxes - it takes several layers of lighter paint in order to get the colour to 'pop'.  However, shadows and darker colours were a lot easier.  All in all, I am pleased with the result and will invest in some more of these canvases.

The real Otis has not appeared on the Explore.org bear cams this year.  It is getting late in the season and my thoughts are turning to the possibility that last year was the last time we would have seen him. His final appearance on the cams last year was in a high speed chase after a couple of other bears - in all the years I have been watching the cams I have never seen him run so fast and for so long, so he was fit at the time!  There are other factors that should be taken into account - last year there were not so many salmon, so perhaps he has found a better fishing spot; there are a lot of testosterone filled big bears at the falls this year, a concern for an old bear; and the human visitors seem to be getting more and more each year.  I guess we have to keep our fingers crossed and hope that dear Otis makes an appearance in 20224.

I have someone interested in this painting, but if they choose not to purchase it, it will be in my Etsy shop soon.

Chunk...

This has been a very poor year for commissions - I think I have only had three since Christmas, which is a first.  I don't know if it is the current cost of living crisis and people not spending money on fripperies, or whether I have become boring (!), but it sucks.

I have also not felt much like painting either, which has been a worry.  However, I got my mojo back a couple of weeks ago and painted Chunk the bear from Katmai National Park in Alaska.  It felt good to be painting something with enthusiasm again and I am very happy with how it turned out - the photo has bleached the colours a bit as always.  This is for sale in my Etsy shop.

Nothing on the easel at the moment - have spent the week assisting (or getting in the way) of Mr.B as he replaced the wooden uprights of our pergola before it falls on our heads.  Hopefully getting back to the paints in the next couple of days.

Knitting wise, I am currently working on the last few patterns for a new Nudinits book - complicated stuff this time round...watch this space!
 

Bear 610

 Here's what I have been working on over the past few weeks.  This is bear 610, who lives in Katmai National Park, Alaska.  She has quite the story - she was abandoned as a cub but managed to survive by keeping well out of the way of other bears down by the river mouth despite having a huge injury to her rear end which has left her with a large dent where it has healed.  How this little bear did not die is a mystery with so much against her.  But she did, and when she was a subadult she remained shy and aloof until other subadult bears attempted to play with her, whereupon she finally joined in and became one of the gang!  She is now an adult bear who manages just fine - I am waiting to see if she returns this year from hibernation with a cub or two of her own.

This was painted in watercolour on paper, with huge thanks to Olatz Azcona Munarriz for the use of her wonderful photo taken last year.

Moonlight...

I painted this last week - I have had it in mind for a long time, but commissions for dog portraits had to take priority.  This is Otis swimming in the moonlight, referencing a snap taken last year on the Explore.org bear cams.  Unfortunately, I just cannot photograph the painting successfully.  The above picture is slightly too dark...

...and this one is way too light.  I have tried 3 different cameras and they just do not like this painting!  The true colours are somewhere between the two photographs.  This was watercolour on paper,and will be in my Etsy shop shortly.

On the easel - another bear...
 

Small Things...

I've been playing around with yarn while I waited for a larger project to be confirmed.  I bought a book called Amigurumi Dolls a long time ago but never made anything from it until now.  These little babies are about 2 inches tall and cute as a button.  I love the teeny-weeny teddy!

This one is also the same size.  Not sure what I will do with these, it was just fun to crochet them.

I've also knitted a Katmai hat from the book Knit The National Parks - Ithink this one has a home already.

These two baby Katmai hats are already on their way to their new home - twins!

On the easel - a new dog portrait, a Yorkshire terrier this time.
 

The Birds...

 I was a bit naughty last week and took a break from commissions to paint this little watercolour.  It's a scene I saw on the Explore.org bear cams in the early autumn when a little bear was just standing on the log minding his own business and being pestered by about 10 or 12 ravens.  I don't know what they were after, but they gave him a hard time!  I didn't add all the ravens, just enough to get the idea across.

This one sold within hours - never even made it to my Etsy shop!

On the drawing board - I'm behaving myself and working on a commissioned dog portrait!

I'm also sewing a number of stuffed bears - 2 Otises and 1 Popeye will be available shortly.

Popeye...

I've made so many Otis bears over the years, as well as other favourites from the Explore.org bear cams, so it was an interesting challenge when I was asked if I could make a different bear.  This is bear 634 Popeye, in real life a huge boar with a large shoulder hump and piercing eyes.  Not so easy to achieve in fabric and plastic!

However, considering this was an experiment and the first time I have made him, I am very pleased with how he has turned out.  Now to find out of the recipient is as happy as I am!

On the easel - a quick bear watercolour before embarkingon yet more dog portraits.
 

Sunrise over Brooks Falls...

 Here is the piece I have been working on over the past week.  I attempted it a few weeks ago using ink and it was a disaster, so I wanted to try again using watercolours.  I just cannot photograph it well, whatever camera I use seems to bleach the colours out from the water - perhaps it is due to the poor daylight we have at the moment.

So you will have to imagine that the colours are more intense than what shows here!  It is taken from a scene I snapped from the Explore.org bear cams a couple of months ago.  The light shines from behind the mountains and far trees leaving a shimmering path up the river with the bear silhouetted against the water as he stands on what is left of the island.  I was very happy with how this turned out - the trees have been worked wet in wet and thankfully did exactly what I wanted!

This one sold within hours of being put on Facebook - you snooze, you lose!

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!
 

Fat Bear Hat...

I knitted the Katmai hat from the book, Knitting the National Parks.  The bear seemed to turn out looking very well nourished - at least he is ready for hibernation!  This is a Christmas present for someone and had to be posted in a hurry to avoid strikes/Christmas rush, so does not have the faux fur pompom as shown in the pattern book.  The next ones (yes, plural, I've already had requests) will have the pompoms!

Not much else going on as far as arts & crafts - Mr.B has just had his second knee replacement surgery so I am tending to him while he is incapacitated, not much time left for painting unfortunately.

Otis...Again!

Yesterday I finally completed this one - it took much longer than usual, probably because there was a lot of detail to include, plus Otis has an awful lot of fur!

Watercolour on paper, a private commission.

My life seems to revolve around Otis at the moment - three more paintings of him to do, plus a couple of stuffed toys.  It's all good, who doesn't love Otis?
 

More Otis...

I seem to spend most of my time these days either making or painting bears, mainly Otis.  This is my current commission and although I have painted Otis more times than I can count, I am still enjoying this one immensely.  It's good to be painting after the 2 month enforced break, I don't care what the subject matter is!  Just as well, as I have three more commissions, all Otis...

I've also been sewing some more Otis stuffies - they don't hang around for long and I am only sorry that I cannot be any faster making them.  They are a little labour intensive when it comes to cutting out the fabric and pinning/sewing it all together.  Two more in the pipeline - when I get time to use the sewing machine!
 

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...

Back in the summer, the American magazine Travel Guide ran a competition for it's readers with the first prize being a painting of their favourite bear done by me.  I have finally completed the winner's painting - I'm only so late in doing so because the winner could not decide which bear to choose for her prize, so commissioned me to do a second painting of the other bear!

This is bear 435 Holly, who lives in Katmai National Park, Alaska.  She is quite something, being fairly old for a bear and yet still producing cubs which she raises in a calm, well practised style. She has also won the annual fun Fat Bear contest in the past - as you can see here, she gets large!  This has been painted in watercolour on paper.

Up next, another commission, another bear...
 

How It Starts...

This is my current commission - I thought you might be interested to see how a painting like this gets started.  Initially the bear was drawn out carefully in pencil, with a sketchy background as in this case it is mainly leaves, with the water flowing around the rock that the bear is standing on.

Then I begin to paint in the background, carefully around the outline of the bear.  Usually I would use masking fluid to protect the edges of my drawing, but I have run out so on this occasion I have just had to take my time and do it the hard way!  Once the paint around the outline of the bear is dry, I rub out the pencil marks so that when the time comes to paint the bear, I have no dark smudgy lines showing through the paint.  I will do this throughout the painting in order to keep the pencil marks that are visible to a minimum.

The reference photograph I have been given was taken by the lady this is for and is a little bit fuzzy - she told me she was so excited that her hands were shaking!  So as I go, I will try and sharpen it all up a little - I do have quite a few other photos of this particular bear that I can call upon to get details of the face etc. to work from.

This is in watercolour on paper.  I have two more bear paintings to produce between now and Christmas if possible...it's going to take some doing!

Otis...

Just completed this - the bear 480 Otis, painted in watercolour on paper.  This was a private commission.  I have painted Otis many, many times, and thought it might get boring but this one kept my interest the whole way through.  The reference photo just had water around him but I was asked to make it that he was sitting in his 'office' - the area at the back of Brooks Falls where Otis likes to sit quietly and gorge himself on salmon.  I have also painted 'the office' so many times that I don't need a reference photo any more!  Painting all that fur was quite a challenge - so many curls and ruffles!  It took a great deal of concentration not to lose my way with it.

This is part of a double commission, the other being of bear 435 Holly.  Good job I like bears...

Interlude...

I have a ton of work to complete before Christmas (hopefully) but had to take a few days away from it to paint this little chap.  Sometimes it pays to take a step back from the commissioned work to do something for yourself in order to keep your work fresh - I mean, I love Otis the bear, but to paint him three times in a row gets just a little tedious!

So this is a young bear at Katmai who as yet has no number and is currently referred to by the unfortunately nickname of Bucky - long and involved story as to why, which I won't go into here.  A few weeks ago he was lying on a rock just watching the world go by and we got some great close-ups on the live web cams.  I collected a few images as I really wanted to make a painting from them, it was such a sweet moment.  Since then, the urge to get this done has been strong so I went with it and am very pleased with the result.  Watercolour on paper.

He will be in my Etsy shop shortly - and for me, it's back to Otis once again!

Grazer...

This is a painting of the bear 128, Grazer, and one of her yearling cubs.  Watching the Explore.org bear cams this year has been crazy, lots and lots of bears and Grazer on the defensive the whole time - she has a reputation for beating the snot out of any other bear that dares to even look at one of her cubs.  However, I caught this tender moment a couple of weeks ago, just after she had been nursing her two cubs in a quiet spot under some trees and thought it would make a sweet painting.  Painted in watercolour on paper and will be in my Etsy shop shortly.

Next up - I've been asked to be the prize in the American magazine Travel Guide's summer competition again this year.  First prize is a painting of the winner's favourite bear, second and third prizes are a painted trinket box & a stuffed Otis bear, so I had better get a move on with the box & toy!
 

Beadnose...

 I completed this yesterday - it is a portrait of the bear 609 Beadnose who lives/lived at Katmai National Park Alaska.  She was a great favourite of viewers of the Explore.org web cams and if you have seen a photo of a bear at the top of a waterfall with a fish just flying into it's mouth, odds are it is Beadnose.  Sadly, she has not been seen for two seasons now - I suppose we will never know what happened to her, whether she passed away or simply moved elsewhere.

This is a private commission and will be a surprise gift for someone.  It is painted in watercolours on paper.

If you'd like your own bear portrait, I'm free for a few weeks, get intouch!