McKay Bear
I was so glad to have the opportunity to return to Fort McKay and paint with young artists at the youth centre. This facility, located adjacent to the arena and near the school, is bathed in light and is an amazing addition to this thriving northern community.
The students had offered a number of different ideas about what we could paint. Among their suggestions was a bear.
Using the grid method, they sketched out the shape of the bear's ears, eyes, nose and mouth. They then took my advice and started by imagining the bear without any hair. Without exception, the young artists took completely unique paths and chose a broad range of colours.
While they worked on 10" x 10" canvases, I got to work on a 30" x 30". I spent much of my time working on the underpainting before beginning the process of adding the hair.
A few more hours of work in the studio and "McKay Bear" is all done.
The students had offered a number of different ideas about what we could paint. Among their suggestions was a bear.
Using the grid method, they sketched out the shape of the bear's ears, eyes, nose and mouth. They then took my advice and started by imagining the bear without any hair. Without exception, the young artists took completely unique paths and chose a broad range of colours.
While they worked on 10" x 10" canvases, I got to work on a 30" x 30". I spent much of my time working on the underpainting before beginning the process of adding the hair.
A few more hours of work in the studio and "McKay Bear" is all done.
