Painting Process: "Growling Grizzly"

“Growling Grizzly” is an intense and detailed painting I created, capturing the ferocity of a grizzly bear head-on. And don’t worry - I didn’t paint this one with a live model!

I started by outlining a rough sketch of my plans for the piece, giving myself a guideline for when I started painting.

When I been painting, I start with the further back fur rolls, and slowly work my way forward.

I then move onto the fur on the face, and capturing the detail in the mouth, teeth, and tongue. I also add in the stray hairs from the mouth.

And I do the same with refining the detail in the background fur, capturing the highlights and shadows in each brushstroke.

And finally it’s done, as I refine the whole piece and finish up the eyes and nose!

Prints of “Growling Grizzly” are available in my Etsy shop as canvas, gicleé paper prints, and greeting cards.