Ursus Arctos

Ursus Arctos. 48″ x 30″. Acrylic on Canvas. 2014.

To me vulnerability and sleeping go hand in hand. Whether you sleep alone, or with a partner, or in the forest. And in turn, anything can be vulnerable, even the creatures we misrepresent as nuisances or pests or decide that since they are predators, they are invincible. This is not true. I want to play with the idea of these huge predators being vulnerable, through sleeping. The Grizzly bear can weight anywhere from 300 (female) to 800 pounds (male). They can reach 6.5 ft standing from nose to tail, and 3.5 ft at the shoulder.
Historically they covered the entire west half of North America, with nearly 50, 000 individuals. They have since been almost completely pushed out of America, with roughly 1000 to 1200 in the west coast of Canada, and a few northern states. Though there is thought to be 30 000 individuals in Alaska.

The bears are life size, to show them as individuals with different personalities and emotions. The compositions are rather simple, almost as portraits, where the subject matter is the main focus. Thus hopefully creating an intimate connection with the bears.