Spirit Bear - Metal Print

Spirit Bear metal print by Rory Canfield.  Printed directly onto a sheet of 1/16" thick aluminum. The aluminum sheet is offset from the wall by a 3/4" thick wooden frame which is attached to the back. The high gloss of the aluminum sheet complements the rich colors of any image to produce stunning results.

Arrives ready to hang

Tahoe Spirit Bear is an original painting I created upon moving to Lake Tahoe in the spring of 2016. I wanted to create an image that captured the mystery, power, and majestic beauty of our local brown bears in a unique way I had not yet seen here. I created the facial profile of the brown bear out of pine trees. The branches are bent to create the basic shape and contour of the bear face with details of surrounding pine needles. The open or negative spaces beyond the profile, is of flowing blue colors and small bubbles reminiscent of our big, beautiful, blue lake in the mountains. I created the eyes in a spiral manner to add to the mystery feel of the bear. I have found it is very challenging to look a bear in the eyes for a long period of time. They are always on their way somewhere, and mostly not concerned about humans. I also included energy symbolism coming out from the third eye area of the Tahoe Spirit Bear. The third eye is said to be the center of our consciousness. Our receiver to the spiritual energies. I see the repeating patterns of my life being ever more a reflective mirror into myself. In other words, I see myself represented in all things we would consider to be external more and more as an internal reflection. As I painted this piece, I got the chance to explore the power and ways of the bear in myself. This is how the natives of our fine land looked into nature and themselves. I can only hope that the viewers of Tahoe Spirit Bear can see this piece and connect to and explore for themselves the mystery and medicine of Lake Tahoe. Including our neighboring brown bears, the mountain top forests, and all that Lake Tahoe has to offer the soul.
Rory Canfield
Tonic Arts