Ice Bear

Now we get to what I've been doing this week and I'm quite pleased. This painting is 18x24 and only the second one I've done of a polar bear. I guess they've become a symbol of the global warming thing but I painted it because I wanted to try some new techniques and especially show the contrast of the bear with the stark and desolate background. Most think of polar bears as white but I didn't use any in this painting. Read somewhere that they aren't really white but their color picks up their surroundings...something about the hollow hair reflecting the environment or light. It could have been more blue but what fun is that? I borrowed the title from a Bob Kuhn painting and consider this a tribute to Mr. Kuhn who passed away on October 1st at age 87, painting to the end. So Bob, this is the best I could do and you are a significant inspiration for my painting. Sometimes I get better and that's encouraging as a late starter in wildlife painting.