Alaskan Raven Studio

Art in Alaska. Story of an Alaskan artist.

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Big Bear Update

October 20, 2015 by alaskanraven

I have a New Big Goal. It excites me. It is daunting and a little frightening. I’m not even sure how it will be accomplished but the thought of it thrills me.

I want to paint BIG polar bears.
My first thought was to paint a large bear on the outside of my house. I may still do that but right now I am focused on creating large 6′ x 4′ panels.

I’ll need to use my big brushes. Claude Monet used to tape his brushes to long tree branches so he could stand back and paint his water lilies. Hmmmm.

I need space. I’ve cleared many things out of my studio. I am ruthless with all the stuff that accumulates.

My goal may take a year to accomplish but it is a good challenge.

I recently completed a 4′ canvas with a large bruin luxuriating in the snow. My bears are growing larger and larger with daring brushstrokes. I’m pushing the color to portray the wildness. I’m eager to see where the pursuit takes me.

I’m still painting bears that are a more traditional size. I may even do some mini ones just to keep things interesting.

My big bears won’t be living on standard canvas. I’ve discovered a new fabric this summer that I am experimenting with right now. I’ll share more about this development later.

"Polar Energy" 24" x 36"
“Polar Energy”
24″ x 36″

Moving forward. He’s coming right at us. I love the interaction of the colors and the feeling of electricity in the air.

"Arctic Extremes" 24" x 18"
“Arctic Extremes”
24″ x 18″

The deep dark cold contrasting with the warm sunlight and warmth from the polar bear’s body is the subject of this painting. He must generate warmth to fight off the arctic temperatures.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Alaska, animal, arctic, bear, paint, painting, paintwildly, polar bears

Refresh, recharge, restart

September 6, 2015 by alaskanraven

Time for change.

Time to get rid of things that are not being used. Move things around. Set things up differently. Turn the studio inside out, upside down and totally reorganize it. Just like hitting the restart button on a computer.

Change invigorates me. Find a better way to store and access my tubes of pigment. Stack things differently. Try out a different palette. Find a new container for brushes. Change creates more room in the studio for my elbows and larger canvases.

Time to paint.
Explore new ways to paint my polar bears.
How to paint wildly to capture these fascinating animals?

Layers and layers of paint. I apply more color until a bear emerges out of the pigment. This bear rests but is ready to take action. I focus on their strength and power while I work. Their immense presence. Shape the form with color and emotions. Motion and movement with more color. I want these bears to breathe!

Bears roam around in my studio.

"Up Close"  10" x 8" oil painting by Raven
“Up Close” 10″ x 8″ oil painting by Raven
"Patience" 12" x 24" oil painting by Raven. This painting can be seen at Stephan's Fine Arts in Anchorage, Alaska
“Patience” 12″ x 24″ oil painting by Raven.
"On the Move" 10" x 8" oil painting by Raven. Brighter colors, shorter brushstrokes. It is all about motion and color and more color.
“On the Move” 10″ x 8″ oil painting Brighter colors, shorter brushstrokes. Motion and color and more color.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Alaska, change, paint, painter, paintings, paintwildly, polar bears

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Raven Ramblings

Shipment arrives

“Sterling, look at that!” “Look at what, Felix?” “That huge box. From Canada.” “Looks like the artist received another shipment of Kroma paint. Watch, she’ll spend the rest of the day arranging it in her studio. All those tubes of paint go in some sort of order.” “Paint? What is that?” “Paint is color. She […]

Edges are important

“Sterling, What is the artist doing now?” “What do you mean, Felix?” “She spends lots of time brushing paint on the sides of her painting. The edges. You know what I mean?” “She makes changes on it when she changes the front of the painting. The sides appear to be important to her.” “But why?” […]

More Adventures

contact me with questions or comments

Alaskan Raven Studio
PO Box 80231
Fairbanks, Alaska 99708
USA
alaskanblackbird@yahoo.com

 

Represented by:
Well Street Art Co.
1302 Well Street
Fairbanks, Alaska
907 452-6169

Stephan Fine Arts
939 West 5th Ave.
Anchorage, Alaska 99501
USA
(907) 274-5009
http://www.stephanfinearts.com/

more about Raven

I ventured to Alaska before there was an oil pipeline and fell in love with the gnarly spruce trees, intense weather and mountains I could touch. Very different from the landscape in St. Louis. I was looking for different. The spruce trees: those scraggy, wizened, lanky conifers danced onto the first page of my sketch […]

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