I started sketching this beautiful grizzly two years ago as I sat waiting for my daughter to finish a piano lesson. I got just the basic pencil sketch in, but since I didn’t have an active plan for a ‘bear piece’ it stayed like that for almost two years.
Then, earlier this summer, I started thinking of the Bear. Which was weird…because I didn’t have an active plan to draw a grizzly (a lot of my work is related to a specific conservation issue or animal I am actively studying and I usually have a reason for starting a piece). The thoughts started as just a ‘oh yeah, the bear; I should finish that sometime’ kind of thing, but then it started crossing my mind a LOT.
In the car, walking the dogs…really random times.
Finally, when the bear crossed my mind in the shower, I finally said- ‘ok, Bear! I promise I will finish that piece now’.
So that week I sat down to find the sketch and finish The Bear (who seemed really into me getting it done).
I mean really. The shower.
It’s been a while since I’ve done a full illustration- meaning not just a sketch- with background and surrounding areas on the page added; but it was clear that this should be more involved than just the bear. I felt into it and it seemed like Salmon wanted to be included, so I added salmon at the bottom. And salmon berries to create a kind of frame around the bear.
At this point the piece was mostly finished- I wanted to add another element to the frame- but it was mostly complete and I was happy with it.
I was still wondering about why the Bear had been so seemingly insistent that I finish that two year old sketch though.
It was with that curiosity that I went down a rabbit hole of various ‘grizzly bear’ internet links- exploring the symbolism of bears and what I might be being asked to learn from Bear at that time.
Turns out it was a much more literal connection.
One of the links I followed on grizzlies led me to an article written just a month before about how, after years and years of debate, it had been decided that grizzlies would be reintroduced into the North Cascades of Washington State.
How about that?
Right here in my state, right around when Bear was appearing and insisting that I finish the grizzly illustration, it seems that the final debates and votes were taking place that would affect the future of grizzlies in Washington.
I know this was not an easy decision and can see why it took years to come by. Predators are a challenge for us humans to accept and deal with and I understand the fears around having them living in close proximity. I also understand what happens to ecosystems where apex predators disappear. I grew up in Maryland where the deer population was extremely out of balance due to the lack of natural predators and the necessary culling of herds that apex predators provide.
I am not here to debate the issue either way, I understand that it’s a complex issue, and I don’t feel that’s the point or my role in creating this illustration. Instead, this illustration is to honor the complexity of our Earth and our ecosystems - where each living thing great and small has a role to play and is important to the other living things around it.
So after continuing my deep dive into internet grizzly info and finding an interesting article about how grizzlies feed on a particular moth at a certain time of year, I decided that would be the perfect final addition to the illustration. The grizzly in the middle, surrounded by other closely interconnected Beings - Salmon, Cutworm Moths, and Salmon Berries.
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The original of this illustration is available. It is 5 x 7 and will come matted. I am also offering prints. As always, 10% of the profits from the sale of the piece will go to my favorite conservation organizations.
Articles Mentioned:
Grizzly Bears Will Finally Return to Washington State. Humans Aren’t Sure How to Greet Them (Scientific American)
Grizzly Ecology Pt. 1: Bears and Bugs (Vital Ground Foundation) The section about the connection between grizzlies and cutworm moths is in the second section as you scroll down.
Soaring Over Bear Country: The Interconnection of Bird and Grizzly Conservation (Vital Ground Foundation) More interesting info about how species affect each other in an environment.
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