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| Bear on a Mountain from a photo by Franklin by Sharon Whitley the rambling artist |
I painted this brown bear back in February as another exercise for Judith's loosening up group on Paint my Photo. It is from a photo taken by Franklin who is a fabulous artist as well as a brilliant photographer - I remember seeing this photo for the first time and thinking - how lucky get so close to one of these beautiful creatures. Little did I know then that just a few months later I nearly would get up close to one. At the end of May Gary and I along with 9 others climbed Mount Olympus in Greece - we did it over 2 days, bunking at Refuge A overnight and setting off in the early hours the following morning to reach the summit. There was a fresh snowfall the night before and we were soon above the snow line - no other footsteps to be seen except the unmistakable fresh prints of a bear following the same path we were on but coming down from the summit - we were so excited and I was dying to see this bear for real - there were 11 of us after all surely it wouldn't attack! but no such luck - although I'm sure it will have seen us passing further down! Not all of us reached the summit because the snowy conditions needed crampons and 3 of the group weren't equipped, so 8 of us carried on in pretty much white out conditions until we reached Skolio summit - and the clouds cleared for a few minutes to give us the most amazing view! The Greek gods were looking after us!!
It was when we got back to the refuge that we found out that the last bear on Olympus was presumed dead and there had been no evidence of one for over 4 years - our photos caused great excitement in the National Park - I would still love to see one for real, beautiful animals.
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| That's me up there - in the beautiful Enipeas Canyon which leads to Mount Olympus |
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| Fresh bear prints in the snow |
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| Yay - we got a view!!! |
Now I guess it's time I stopped rambling and start producing more art.....
Interested in seeing more photos from the Olympus trip take a look at Gary's blog post here.
A Bear watercolour painted , so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteHow nice to see moments of joy!
It seems to have climbed up there with you!
Hello Rita - the bear prints were coming down the mountain and we were going up so we must have passed it at some point - no doubt it was hiding amongst the forestry further down the mountain by the time we got there, they tend to travel by night apparently but it was still a thrill to see the prints! And yes I was so happy to reach the summit and to get that amazing view!
DeleteWhat a good link......that bear was the bane of many of our lives so it is lovely to see your lovely one again here. You look absolutely ecstatic to have reached the summit and so you should be, a tremendous feat!!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Judith, yes it was a tricky one - you'll notice I haven't posted my 1st attempt at the bear! I was absolutely over the moon to be up there and for that view to open out at the exact right moment, fabulous!
Deletebeieindruckende fotos und der gemalte bär ist einfach unglaublich schön....ist der bär mit eujch aufgestiegen, war er der nette begleiter????
ReplyDeleteliebe grüße maria
Thank you Maria - we only saw the paw prints in the snow unfortunately - a few of the others got quite scared at the thought of a bear around though!
DeleteFabulous bear painting, Sharon! And amazing photos and story!
ReplyDeleteHello Judy - just thinking about that day makes me smile - we're planning on going again in better weather conditions, glad you like the painting!
DeleteMe gusta mucho tu trabajo, especialmente ese "Oso en la Montaña". Estupenda acuarela.
ReplyDeleteFelicitaciones.
Gracias Ruben. Sus retratos son excelentes, gracias por su visita!
DeleteOh Sharon there's that bear again. Just beautiful. I know I would have been quivering in my boots if I'd seen those bear tracks. Well done for reaching your goal too.
ReplyDeleteAh thanks Laura - it seems a long time ago when we painted that bear! The Olympus trip was a wonderful and has made me hungry for more! Definitely going to try and go back again in better weather conditions.
DeleteA composition perfect, sky and bear so beautiful. Regards
ReplyDeleteEva thank you - have a lovely day
DeleteMe gusta mucho la acuarela tan suelta, y tu preciosa historia de montañas y osos.
ReplyDeletegracias por sus lindos comentarios, me alegro de que haya disfrutado de la historia. saludos!
DeleteSharon, Love the bear painting and great photos!
ReplyDeletethere are more photos on the link to Gary's page if you haven't already looked. I keep meaning to do more paintings in a similar style, thank you dropping by and leaving such lovely comments, have a great day
DeleteBienvenida a mi blog. Me encanta tu historia de vida y tu bello trabajo.
ReplyDeleteUn Abrazo.
Gracias de nuevo Ruben ! Me encanta su trabajo tambien!
DeleteHola Sharon. ¡Magnífica acuarela y estupendas fotos! Un abrazo. Sonia.
ReplyDeleteHola de nuevo Sonia y gracias!
DeleteI am going to so totally enjoy not only your paintings but you stories too. Love outdoors too but certainly as adventurous so now can live that exciting life. Just love the looseness that is your style. Isn't it just great to have so many photographers who so thoughtfully share their photos and artistic interpretations.
ReplyDeleteYes there are some wonderful photographers out there who generously share their work and allow us to paint from them - I'm extra lucky to have my own personal photographer in Gary as well! It's nice to know people like to read little snippets of my life too - never too sure whether people are interested!
DeleteThis bear painting is just gorgeous. I love the wet watery watercolour look. The sky and cliff are great and the bear is, of course, magnificent.
ReplyDeleteHello Nora - I'm so glad you like the bear painting - I'm planning on doing another soon, a cropped in bear from a photo I've seen on PMP - quite similar composition to yours I think, thanks for dropping by - lovely to see you here
DeleteExcellent bear - just excellent!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, I had lots of fun painting him!
DeleteHello Sharon:) Beautiful how you painted the bear! Great job done!
ReplyDelete