Alaskan Bear

An alaskan bear with massive shoulders and neck walks on the shoreline. Mountain. Orange, Green. Large Painting by artist Donald Ryker in textured expressionist impressionist art style with unique impasto glaze technique.

This bear has just come to the shore out of the woods and his nose is raised as he checks his surroundings. Alaskan bears can frequently be seen on the shoreline. They are huge mammals at the top of their food chain without much threat from any other predators. You can see the heaviness of his neck and massive shoulders under his thick coat of hair. I chose to paint him in shades of orange. I was working with a monochrome range of colors in tints and shades from light to dark. This bear is the first time I tried using a paint rake to create the texture of his fur. He also has many layers of glaze over the original pigment that was blocked in to create lights and shadows. An wild animal specialist viewed this painting in a solo show and told me the eyes are exactly like looking into a wild bear’s eyes. Quite a compliment. —Donald Ryker

Available as:
Original Painting $2,160
Print $55