'If you look out of the window on a moon-lit night you just might catch a glimpse of the gigantic blue bear of Portola as he goes about his business making sure all the town-folk are sleeping safe and sound in their beds. He's mostly gentle but a cumbersome brute so don't be too upset if he accidentally dislodges a tile or two from your roof as he works, but be sure not to startle him as he's been known to devour delinquents and hoodlums who are up to no good."
This is from a collection of illustrations I've been working on inspired by my summer spent in California. I had this idea of a giant bear spirit keeping a watchful eye over a variety of places around California. The original piece was illustrated in pen and ink with an additional series of ink washes and I used blue gouache for the bear.
More bears here - http://matpringle.co.uk/#1884190/The-Spirit-Bears-of-California
Each one is printed using Ultrachrome archival Inks on Hahnemuhle Photorag (308gsm - heavy art paper) and they measure 12" x 16" including a border for framing.
