watercolour and ink on paper
BEAR
Bears are solitary animals, they may be nocturnal or diurnal and use caves and other natural shelters as their dens in which they hibernate for up to a hundred days in the winter.
They have a long snout, short round ears, they are heavy with stocky legs but are great runners, climbers and swimmers, with strong forelimbs to catch pray and dig dens. They are plantigrade giving them a lumbering walk, added to by not having touh sensitive whiskers on their nozzle. Neither their sight, nor their hearing are acute, though they do have colour vision. They have a supreme sense of smell and use scent to communicate with each other and to find food. They have a massive skull with powerful jaw muscles and large canine teeth which are mostly for display.
Most bears are oppotunistic omnivores; eating anything from insects and berries to carrion and fish. They choose to forage for the the ripest and juciest plants and berries which is learned behaviour, seeking food from the tops of trees and the densest bushes.
Bears communicate through tongue-clicks, grunts and chuffs, or moans, huffs, snorts when courting. They bark in alarm and warnings can include jaw clicking and lip popping. When mating the female becomes mroe tollerant of males who may fight to prevent rivals from interacting with their mate.
Despite their prowesses, or perhaps because of them, six of the eight species of bear are vulnerable of endangered, indeed in early languages the word bear and fear were the same, although, the artic is named for the constellation: the great bear, which is prominent in the northern sky. There is evidence of early bear worship and some cultures consider the bear to be the spirit of their ancestors. Bears are often considered shamanic due to their solitary nature. Do not think of the bear in the gentle character in children's fiction, think of it as the russian bear, and fear it.
Entrance to behold
The red carpet
The waiting room
The Grand Hall
The significant naked man with the BEAR mask plays out the second step to power and...
The conservatory
House of Masks
Welcome to the house of masks, an exploration of hedonism and failure through the...
