In April, I was one of 18 juried artists selected to paint plein air at the Indianapolis Zoo for the Naturally Inspired Paint Out. What an awesome experience!

I chose to paint an Alaskan Brown Bear. It’s amazing watching these animals up close! But, it’s really sad knowing they’d be roaming miles of wilderness if conservation wasn’t necessary. One of the biggest threats to Alaskan Brown Bears is increased development. They’re running out of space. 

During the zoo’s bear chat, they said one of the bears was brought in as a cub after her mother was euthanized. She had gotten used to getting food from people. Then she came across some hikers and got angry when they didn’t have anything for her. I tried to pay a little homage to this story by including the Big and Little Dipper, aka Big and Little Bear.

I had been simultaneously excited and nervous for this since I was juried in. On one hand, what an honor! On the other hand, painting with a time limit with eyes on my work all day… a little intimidating. It turned out to be really freeing to work quickly and outside at the zoo. Also it was so fun talking to some young aspiring artists!

I’m glad I had the opportunity to help raise money for conservation efforts while creating this unique piece in the process.