The Swimmer

The Swimmer Oil on Canvas 48" X 36" 

This painting of The Swimmer will be shown at The Borsini-Burr Gallery in Montara, CA, where I will be appearing on Saturday, August 7th from 5pm to 8pm.  I really hope those of you in the San Francisco Bay Area can make it as I would like to show you my new work in which a number of new animals will be featured.  (Montara is 20 miles south of San Francisco, just north of Half Moon Bay— it's a nice drive at the end of the day and you can always stay at the nearby Ritz Carlton Resort!)

These were my thoughts as this painting was being executed:

Bear and salmon feature prominently in many Northwestern Native American legends as powerful beings that provide life force to all people. This is well illustrated every spring when bears fish for salmon by standing in the rivers and near waterfalls to catch them as they jump upstream. Less well known is that they occasionally go underwater to find weak or dead salmon (the healthy fish can swim away faster than the bear). It occurred to me that the bear might find herself in a world of mystery and wonder immersed in the water on a sunny spring day, much as we are when we go diving into this different world.

(By the way, I have decided to publish The Swimmer as a print and these will be available very soon throughout our gallery network.)