Bear Studies

I've been interested in bears for several years and have painted many black bears, but this fall we took 2 trips to observe and photograph grizzlies in their natural habitat. The first was to Silver Salmon Creek Lodge on Cook Inlet, Alaska, where the grizzlies fish for salmon on the beach at low tide and then dig for huge razor clams as the tide comes in.

Then we revisited the Great Bear Rainforest  ..  such a magical place. We stayed in Klemtu at the Spirit Bear Lodge, and with the help of a wonderful guide  we saw a dozen grizzlies in Mussel Inlet.  One confident mom and 3 cubs came quite close to us but our guide assured us that if we stayed crouched on the ground she would ignore us. He had been watching her all summer and admired the way her 3 cubs were thriving. He had even witnessed her playing with her cubs! Her photo is below, along with my large portrait of her.