Family Time

Last year my grandson wanted to learn to paint a scene with bears in it. After returning from an Alaskan adventure this month, I was inspired to attempt to paint them as well. I love Alaska ... to experience personally and to paint! Enjoy ...

Nathan's Buddies

20 years ago, Nathan and I had the privilege of our first Alaska adventure, compliments of Gary Wright. He and his son, Colin, invited us to go with them to the Kenai Peninsula. One of the fishing adventures was to take a float plane across the Cook Inlet to a lake where Sockeye salmon were migrating upstream into a little creek to spawn.

We were not the only fishers there ... several brown bears were also interested in the tasty denizens. These two characters entertained us almost the entire day. Nathan even had a confrontation with them over one of his fish!

This year, Nathan and I returned again to Alaska together for another fly fishing adventure! We didn't have any intimate encounters with bears this trip like in years past, but one bear did find us curious enough to check us out several times during our wade into his "fishing grounds". He was just leery enough of us to give us "wide birth" though. It was fun to know that he was always around and interested in what we were doing!

Enjoy!

Booboo

Maureen recently spent some time with her friend, Missy, up in the Sierra Nevadas (see last post). They hiked a lot picking Elder berries along the way. They saw a particularly berry-laden bush, and decided to return a little later to harvest its fruit. However, when they returned just a short time later, they discovered that a black bear had beaten them to it and picked it clean!

When she told me the story, I remembered my many bear encounters and decided to paint this in their honor! I call him, "Boo boo" ...

Thievery!

My latest addition to my Alaska Collection ... "Bear Thievery"! Fly fishing for Coho is an incredible experience! When one comes face to face with the top of the food chain, however, one is smart to yield! I am just glad I had a fish to offer this big guy! Notice my stringer still hanging out of the salmon's mouth! Acrylic on canvas 20"x20".

Alaska Browns

Each time I have had the opportunity to visit Alaska, I have had some interaction with these incredible critters. This painting adds to my Alaska collection ... eagles, bear, salmon, beautiful vistas.