"Forest Watch" Grizzly Bear

This piece began with the wood. The live-edge maple burl already held its own landscape — red mineral streaks, deep knots, and open grain that suggested sunlight and shadow before I made a single mark.

I worked with graphite to bring out what was already there. The grizzly emerged from the burl’s natural contours, his form defined by both shadow and the wood’s own figuring. Two black-capped chickadees accompany him: one perched, alert and clear; the second hidden in the upper branches, a detail for the patient viewer to discover.

My intent was simplicity. A quiet moment in an Alberta forest. The right side of the slab holds the darker tones of deep timber, while the left remains open and light, like a meadow edge. I chose not to crowd the space. The negative areas are as important as the rendered ones — they give the bear room to move and the scene room to breathe. Signed and sealed, the burl itself is both canvas and collaborator. Every knot and color shift are part of the drawing.

23” (58.5cm) x 12” (30.5 cm) Graphite on Burl Wood