Not sure of the whole inspiration behind this piece. Mostly, I wanted to try out some pastels I bought a couple of weeks ago and I thought I'd try a different animal. Surprisingly, the sketch of the bear turned out really well really fast. I like some things about pastels, but there's other things I like better about pencils. This was a pretty fast piece. I started sketching last night. To get a finished product like this with pencils would take at least a week of working all evening. So, that's an advantage, but I think it's lacking in details. Oh, and that is a fish he's clutching close.

So . . . first polar bear in more than a decade. And first aurora borealis ever.

Reference photo Polar Bear by motubufo. Pastels on 11X14 sketch paper. Sprayed with fixative to prevent smudging.

Original available for sale: $200
Prints available here.