Film | How a Painting of Black Bears was Inspired by a Visit to Canada | My Wildlife Art

To paint a black bear, I travel all the way to British Columbia in Canada to watch these magnificent animals in their natural habitat.

A visit to watch black bears in Nemo Bay, British Columbia, was the inspiration for this new oil painting. This area is heavily forested and so the best way to spot bears is to comb the coastline by boat. It wasn't long before we found some bears, turning the rocks on the shoreline over to feed on the crabs underneath. Once on shore I tried turning a rock over myself and was surprised just how many crabs crawled out from underneath - no wonder these bears like to feed on these shores!

In my painting studio 

Back in my studio I prepare my painting board. I begin with a rough sketch which I then sand back so that this outline won't show through when I add the brushstrokes to create the texture of the fur. Then I'm ready to begin painting. For this painting I'm starting with the bear, which is a bit different to my normal process. The reason for this is that the bear takes up a large proportion of my composition so it makes sense to get it done first. 

Painting the background

Once the bear is roughly done, I start on the background using a paint bush initially and then a roller to create the illusion of a blurry background. I then use an airbrush to soften the effect - after first covering my bear with masking tape, since I don't want to accidently mist it in paint.

Adding detail

Finally, it's time to add the detail. Using a fine brush, I gradually paint on the fur, nose, ears and eyes, until at last the painting is complete. Then comes the exciting stage - placing the painting into a frame! I'm pleased with the colour of this frame, it picks out the beautiful golden hues of the seaweed in the foreground. I hope you've enjoyed watching my painting journey, from watching black bears in Canada to the completed painting.