A couple years ago I went out painting in the snow with my friend Michele. As a Tahoe resident, she knows great spots to paint and we pulled off a road that goes to Alpine Meadows ski resort.

Michele did a gorgeous mountain painting and my painting was a closer scene of a field of snow, exposed rocks and brush. I was happy with the palette, the sense of light and place.

I wondered if it might translate well as a large painting. So I painted the scene on a 24x30 stretched canvas and it just kind of died- it lacked a good focal point and any story. It was just a background scene. I learned a lesson though that if you are going to blow up a small painting, there’s got to be some complexities.

So it just sat on the floor on my studio, percolating for two years. A couple weeks ago I decided to work into it. My husband has long wanted a bear painting- I mean this has been a real “thing” between us- accompanied with laughter of course- that I paint everything EXCEPT the one thing he has requested. So with Christmas AND his birthday approaching, it was time to try painting him a bear. Or two. He joked that he wanted a mean bear, being taken over by our protective dog, but this scene was too peaceful for that. I’m not even sure that cubs are born in winter but maybe it’s an early spring snow? Since he wanted some drama, I added a little vignette in the top right corner: a figure (my husband?) is walking a dog (ours?) who is just getting a whiff of the bear. Will there be an altercation? Or are these pairs going to pass through snowy meadow without knowing? I’ll let you finish the story.

Studio set up- the 8x10 Plein air image above the 24x30 scene 2 years before I added the bears. I have a photo reference up on my computer screen.