Out of The Shadows

"This is the edge of a beaver dam in Algonquin Park, Central Ontario and it is autumn. The water had been backed up but over the summer it's come back down so you've got fresh, green grass growing on the shoreline. The setting was good, and I liked the lighting which set the mood of the piece.

"I wanted to paint an animal that suited both the location and the lighting. I realized that a black bear would be challenging and appropriate. It looks like they are camouflaged in the darkness, but they take on interesting hues in the light. You are dealing with an animal that is black, so the qualities of the fur are brought out by reflective light or sunlight - that is the only way to bring character or definition to the animal. Otherwise, it just looks like a big lump of black. But if you place it in the sunlight at just the right angle, you will see all these colors that you wouldn't normally see."