A New Fine Art Print

 The Decision by Robert Bissell,  18" X 30"  Limited Edition of 75

Today, I am releasing a new Limited Edition print called The Decision.  This is a new print featuring rabbits and represents a follow-up to a very successful image called The Dilemma, which has been sold out for some time.  All the prints in this Limited Edition Fine Print have been personally embellished by me to give the print brighter highlights and enhanced brushwork that make it indistinguishable from the original. This print is available in one size only, 18" x 30" and the edition is strictly limited to only 75.  Here is my description of how this image came about:

As a youngster I was always concerned that decisions were being made for me without my involvement. Any sensitive, yet proud rabbit knows these decisions could mean the difference between darkness and light. Either way, until the decision was made there was trepidation about what was going on amongst the elders.  In this painting the youngster might be headed for the storm, but we're not certain that he hasn't been called back to go in the opposite direction and off to that clear blue and beautiful horizon.

— Robert Bissell,  May 2011

New Print Release

Today, I am releasing a new Limited Edition print called Metamorphosis.  This is the first time I have released an elephant image and except for the small works size all the prints have been hand-enhanced by me before leaving the studio.  You can view and purchase this print at any of our participating galleries.

Metamorphosis, 2011

Nowhere is the mother and child bond so evident as it is with elephant society. From the time they are born, young elephants are nurtured and cared for by the mother, aunts and grandmothers until they are several years old. The idea of a young elephant maturing into an adult and separating from his family is behind this painting. I wanted him moving towards the bright eastern sun at mid-morning, a time when things become clear and present in the world.

—Robert Bissell

Bear basics

Woman scares off charging bear – with a courgette.

 ...a what?  That is one of these in the US and at this time of year they can get really hard and heavy!

Cucurbita pepo ovifera (Zucchini)

 Here is the story from the Guardian (UK):

A woman fended off a bear attack on her back porch today by using the first weapon she could reach – a courgette. The woman was stirred by midnight noises in her garden near Frenchtown, Montana. She went to investigate and found a 90kg (14st) black bear attacking her 12-year-old collie. She screamed to divert the bear's attention but it charged her.
"The bear growled and was very aggressive, and tried to come inside her back door," said Sheriff Lieutenant Rich Maricelli of Missoula County. "She was able to stop the pursuing bear by improvising."
The bear took a swipe at her with its paw and tore her jeans. The woman jumped back and grasped the nearest object on her kitchen counter inside the doorway – a 30cm long courgette. She threw the courgette at the bear from a distance she estimated to be about a metre, The vegetable hit the bear on the top of its head and the animal fled, Maricelli said. State wildlife officials started a search for the bear.

(Exactly why the 12 year old Collie was in the garden at midnight in bear country is not made clear but now the police are hunting down the bear?) 


On a related note(kind of) here is a photo from Joe Wilson:

Now I dont have to worry if I leave my claw clippers at home.

Lisbeth, Walter and the Ape

 I have been rapidly reading (there is no other way) the misdeeds of Lisbeth Salander in Stieg Larssen's brilliant novels and I have been interspersing that with a commitment to see every Fringe episode on Blu-Ray (currently it looks like Walter is going over to the other side).  Overwhelmed in a torrent of mystery and sci-fi suspense I decided to take a break and started watching the recently purchased Life series from the makers of BBC's Planet Earth— WOW!  I had an idea for a painting in the first five minutes and the stories and photography are so fascinating— I highly recommend it.  The photography, editing and narrations are even better than Planet Earth.  If you who have cable TV, I believe it is showing on the Discovery Channel.

The Tree of Life

 Terence Malick

The Tree of Life will be Terence Malick's fifth feature film in four decades of film-making.  He's been making it for several years now and it will feature Sean Penn and Brad Pitt with a story set in the 1950's, although we know very little about the plot.  Due later this year. 

I like writers and directors who spend a lot of time making their films and for Malick that time is spent in meticulous story crafting and attention to every detail.  He makes beautiful, meditative films about our lives, our distortions and the natural world around us.  I especially like that he weaves images of animals, birds and insects into his narratives as metaphors for the things we experience in our human lives.  This is a kind of re-enchantment that is missing in our modern culture and of which I intend to write a lot more about in the future.  He always uses a narrator who is one of his characters in his films which give them another perspective and eliminates the need for dialogue that would take away from the photography.  I watched Days of Heaven again last night with Sam Shepard, Richard Gere and Brooke Adams set at the start of the century, before the Great War.  I found myself wishing for a simpler life without complications, as do those portrayed in the film.  The characters find the best they can hope for is to continue the life they have and accept the way things are.

The other feature films Malick has crafted are Badlands,  The Thin Red Line and  The New World.

New Painting Available

The Plunge, 2010  36" X 36" Oil on canvas

I am off to the East Coast tomorrow, and after a brief stop in Washington DC, headed to The Dzian Gallery in Worcester, MA, just west of Boston, for a weekend event that will also benefit the Worcester Animal Rescue League.  This organization was started by a group of women in 1912 (yes that is a long time ago— before the nineteenth amendment!) to save abused farm horses.  Today they care for over 3,500 animals every year.   I will be at the gallery from 4 - 9pm on Friday, May 21 and again on Saturday afternoon from 12 - 4pm.  Dzian will be showing a variety of my work, including a new painting titled The Plunge, shown above. The gallery is located at 65 Water Street in Worcester and you can contact the gallery for more information at 508-831-1106.  If you are in the neighborhood we would love to see you there!

Wild in the city

Coming back from walking Roy this morning another deer was roaming the city streets of Berkeley.  This one was naturally confused and looking for a way out but she didn't seem particularly concerned.  Personally I would be happy to see a lot more wildlife on city streets and except for the danger to them, it would make a nice addition to the city and give us all pause to think and consider our place in this world.  Maybe we would all just slow down and care about what is going on around us a little more. 
Last week we had an incident when police shot and killed a cornered deer in an Oakland backyard— an unnecessary act from someone who was obviously too frightened of the animal for his or others safety.

There are a few individuals and some organizations now that are promoting re-naturalizing our towns and cities.  This make sense to me in so many ways.  The alternative of continuing to sterilize our cities and isolating ourselves from nature doesn't really marginalize the animals (there will always figure out a way to be in their natural surroundings or they die) but more importantly it does marginalize us and makes city living humans insignificant to the natural world we plan to not be a part of.

Best thing/Worst thing

The best thing that happened yesterday was this guy, an Aegolius acadicus or Saw-whet owl, a very inquistive little fellow about the size of a child's hand, we saw at the Arader Galleries in San Francisco last night.

This was the start off party for Zoofest.  The main gala event for The San Francisco Zoo is on April 30th (I think tickets are still available here) which will be all about parrots and support for the tropical aviary renovation.  Also present last night was Mark Bittner and his wife Judy, who wrote and produced the book and movie, The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill .  It was a pleasure to meet this charming couple and hear about all their good work with birds.

The worst thing was this news:

The Supreme Court struck down on free-speech grounds Tuesday a federal law that makes it a crime to sell videos or photos of animals being illegally killed ...

The law and the way we decide to interpret our constitution can be a real ass sometimes.......

Peek-a-boo!

This fun photo turned up at the studio yesterday that made us all fall out of our chairs because it confirmed my deep suspicion that bears really do like looking around trees!  The photo was from an info sheet from The Black Bear Conservation Coalition who we hope to be working with to help the black bear in Louisiana.

Here is my new Rangers sculpture and a painting of the same title from some years ago:

The Lonely Dog

I spent a nice afternoon and evening with Mark and Dianne at the Borsini Burr gallery in Montara, just south of San Francisco.  The artist Ivan Clarke was visiting from New Zealand and presented his series of paintings, drawings and sculpture from his series and concept of The Lonely Dog.  I have known Ivan for a few years and followed his work through his website after being introduced to his art through Lahaina Galleries.  Also on display yesterday was a copy of his very limited edition collectors book of the story of The Lonely Dog. A massive book full of trivia, images— beautifully created and crafted. 

"Rolph Flannegan" a character from The Lonely Dog story by Ivan Clarke.

The Lonely Dog is a gripping story of a young dog’s journey through life and Ivan says that  Port Alveridge where the story unfolds, is itself a real world in another time and another place. “Anyone can go there and your ticket is your imagination.”  The story has gained interest from Hollywood and plans are underway to create a movie around Ivan's concept and paintings.  The bronze sculptures are fantastic to see in person.  They were created by Ivan and Richard Taylor of the Weta workshop, who created characters for the Lord of the Rings trilogy. 
 

The important thing for me was to see another artist presenting a world that allows us to see ourselves through the eyes of other animals that have traits and motivations that we see in humans also.   The interplay he creates with the dogs (mostly masculine) and cats (mostly feminine) within the story can be hilarious and poignant at the same time.  His art has a presence and intensity that is a pleasure to be around.

The Source

I am so happy that Spring is here and we get to put the hour forward!  Now, I can take Roy walking after work and get some daylight on my face!  This painting, I completed late last year, was how I conceived of this new season:

      The Source  36" X 48" Oil on canvas

The Source
This painting began as I was looking at a piece by Howard Terpning, who has painted many historical images of native americans in the Southwest.  I recomposed the painting and replaced his Apache warriors with bears as the central figures who have come across this force of nature in the wilderness.   Bluebirds have a mythology that goes back thousands of years and they represent happiness, prosperity, good health and above all confidence. I imagined the powerful waterfall setting as a source of strength and renewal for these beings.

— Robert Bissell, March 2010

The Golden Bear

Here is a new painting that will be exhibited by Lahaina Galleries in Maui later this month.  It is titled The Golden Bear and was conceived many years ago, before I painted The Embrace, a painting that depicted butterflies surrounding and spiraling around a bear.  It is always wonderful to see butterflies in a woodland setting darting in and out of the light.  More often than not I have encountered these yellow/golden butterflies, rather than other colors.  I had imagined the bear as a wanderer in this dark and decaying setting and upon coming across the butterflies being uplifted and reminded of the light he would experience after coming out from the shade of the wood. 

The Dogs of Moscow

I came across an interesting animal article today, featured in several papers (this link to the Financial Times seemed the most comprehensive and reliable).  Wild and stray, roaming dogs have been a feature in Moscow since the 19th century, however through the generations they have begun to adapt to human's modern way of life.  They have pack life and roam the city for food, even using the subway (why walk when you can ride for free?) to find new sources of food.  They know which station they are at by smell and appearance. For the most part Moscovites live in acceptance of the dogs who help keep the city clean by catching mice, rats and eating up thrown away food.  Is it possible that the symbiotic relationship we once had with animals can work in a modern city?

A Summer Remembered

My favorite summer moment was seeing Royce so happy, coming out of the ocean and lickin' his chops.


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