SPECIAL ORDER BRUINS original mixed media wall art

When books fall apart and are headed for that giant library in the sky, that's where I intervene and give them a new life. Dusting off the screen printing gear has been inspiring and I love giving a nod to the techniques which helped me get my start. I studied printmaking in college and during that time spent my non-studio hours printing on anything I could get my hands on. As I return to the printing arts, I'm excited to weave those techniques into my current body of work and see where it takes me.

Part of a new series exploring iconic Western mammals, this piece employs a handful of my favorite techniques. Look closely and you'll see that each of the small backgrounds that holds the image of a bear is actually the cover of an antique book. Each of these book covers has been cut and trimmed to size and makes the perfect surface to apply my imagery.

After cutting the book covers, I illustrated, screen-printed, and hand painted each of these images of the bears you see here. Each small image is itself a small-scale work of art with its own personality, and when combined with the others, creates a beautiful herd of bison roaming the open plains of Colorado.