Lord of the Mountains - Grizzly
Ronald W. Schlorff©
Original (12 x 16) - $1350.00
Grizzly bears once occupied much of the North American continent. They ranged from Canada and
Alaska down through the Rocky Mountains and west to the Pacific Ocean. For thousands of years
they reigned as the undisputed lord of the mountains, or, for that matter, any other place they may
have been found. With the arrival of European man in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries,
much of grizzly country was turned into the range of cattle and sheep. Because of its occasional
depredations on livestock, the grizzly was hunted almost to extinction. Today it is listed as an
endangered species and only remnant populations exist in and near a few National Parks in the
northern Rockies in the lower 48 states. However, substantial populations still occur in parts of
Canada and Alaska, where, in some regions, the animal reaches enormous size due to a protein rich
diet of salmon which bears obtain during the annual spawning runs on certain large rivers.
In this painting I've attempted to create a landscape within a landscape. While working on the piece,
I became increasingly aware of the varied "terrain" of the big bear with numerous valleys and ridges
within the furry contours of the massive beast. The animal is also set within typical Rocky
Mountain habitat, perhaps in a National Park where the grizzly's endangered species status affords
some protection from humankind. I worked hard to get the right facial expression, not too tame but
not overly threatening either. I wanted to portray the power and majesty of "Mr. Griz."
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