Bella Bella looks into Bears in Art

Painters at Painter’s has got me thinking about art.

This painting, from my very own personal collection, is by Vancouver artist Denis Matisz.

When you sit down to do artwork, what inspires you?

Are you drawing to make somebody a gift, or painting to remember a special place or event? Did your teacher suggest an idea? Maybe it feels good to create something because you just really like it.

I’m really enjoying my latest embroidery project. It’s a kind of embroidery called cross-stitch. 

It’s kind of portable art; when I’m travelling, I can pass the time on long flights by embroidering. And how do you like my pattern?

Human beings have been drawing, painting, stitching, and carving images of bears for thousands of years. I like to think that it’s because we’re both magnificent and utterly irresistible.

Over 30,000 years ago, humans painted hundreds of animals in the Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc Cave in southern France. These are some of the oldest known paintings in the whole world. 

A landslide closed off the cave’s entrance about 25,000 years ago. The cave was re-discovered only in 1994. Imagine, Chauvet and its paintings lay silent and undisturbed for 25,000 years.

Look at these splendid bears. They are cave bears, whose scientific name is Ursus spelaeus.

Chauvet’s prehistoric artists didn’t need to look far for their models: cave bears lived right in the caverns. There are bear skeletons, footprints, and claw-marks all over the place, as well as rounded spots where the cave bears used to snuggle down to sleep.

I saw this enormous stone bear at the Westin Kierland Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. Many artists like to carve in various kinds of stone.

 

This fine bear was created by a sculptor named Clifford Pettman. Mr. Pettman lives in Kelowna, British Columbia.

Jonasie Faber Quarqortoq was born in Greenland, and lives nowadays in British Columbia. His soapstone bears reflect his Katladlit heritage. Look how these two bears are dancing:

They make me want to dance too!

 

Along the coast of British Columbia, First Nations artists have created many masterpieces in wood. We bears are often an important symbol and theme. There are some fine examples at the University of British Columbia’s Museum of Anthropology.

Sue Coleman is an artist on Vancouver Island. Her paintings of wildlife and landscapes include elements of Northwest Coast art. Look at this painting of a bear scratching his back on a tree: he has a remarkable friend on the other side.

 

Andrew Mark Dexel, or Enpaauk, is a Coast Salish artist of the Nlakapamux Nation. He began as a graffiti artist. Paintings like this splendid polar bear show how ably he’s brought his talent from the street to the easel.

 

Jimmy Wright became famous as an artist, though as a fisher myself, I was happy to learn that he also once worked as a fishing guide. He wanted his art to make people feel good. This beautiful polar bear and her cub sure do that for me.

 

Barb Bowlsby is another gifted B.C. artist who has painted bears with a fine hand.

 

In 2006, the B.C. Lions Society for Children with Disabilities sponsored an art show on the streets of Vancouver. Two hundred fibreglass bears (representing Kermode bears, just like me) were painted in all kinds of wonderful designs by dozens of different artists. It was called Spirit Bears in the City. The bears were later auctioned to raise funds for the Society’s work. 

This beautiful Spirit Bear now stands near a private home. It was painted by a Vancouver artist named Cori Creed. Ms. Creed chose the image of an arbutus tree for the bear.

Arbutus trees appear in many of Ms. Creed’s paintings. The arbutus (Arbutus menziesii) is the only broadleaf evergreen tree native to Canada. These trees have thin, peeling bark, and strangely crooked trunks and branches that make them oddly beautiful.

 

Would you like to see more images of bears in art? I found a couple of nice online collections for you to browse at flickr and at pinterest.

Now, I hope that all this inspires you to create your own special artwork of a bear! And please let me know if you do.

Story © S. Clouthier

Chauvet bears courtesy Alex Whitaker / www.ancient-wisdom.co.uk

Arbutus tree courtesy David Stanley / Flickr

Other photos © S. Clouthier and D. Wei