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Waiting For Pack Ice I

Waiting For Pack Ice I

By Sue Ryland

Original artwork
Oil on canvas
Framed
Image size: H: 60cm x W: 84cm
Framed size: H: 64cm x W: 88cm (White floating frame)
 
This is the largest and most stunning of Sue's engaging polar bear paintings. The majestic pose of the turning bear is set against a beautifuly-lit snowscape.
 
Like all her other work, it's based on her observation and photographs in the wild, in this case at Churchill, Manitoba, on the edge of Hudson Bay, which is one of the largest polar bear denning regions in the world.
 
By late fall each year, it's an area where multitudes of bears congregate to wait for the ice to redevelop, providing the crucial frozen link to their hunting grounds.
 
Sue'sexperiences on the tundra led to her series entitled The Bears of Hudson Bay, of which this is a prime example: "Polar bears are my first love. They're all individuals and I've tried to reflect their personalities in the way I paint them. ...Everyone thinks that polar bears are white but they're actually not – they're all sorts of warm, honey colours."
 
She is conscious that both the polar bears and grizzlies she paints are endangered species – largely due to loss of habitat and dwindling food sources – so there's a prominent ecology aim in her work as well, to bring these creatures and their plight to wider attention.

  • ABOUT SUE RYLAND

    Sue is a South Cotswold-based artist who specialises in oil painting and pyrography. Drawing inspiration from the natural world, Sue is passionate about documenting the wildlife she encounters.

     

    In 2018, she travelled to Churchill, Manitoba where she was able to spend time among the polar bears. This inspired The Bears of Hudson Bay, a series of oil paintings and pyrography works.

     

    Most recently, Sue's travels took her to Katmai National Park, Alaska where she witnessed grizzly bears during the salmon spawn. That experience formed the basis of her newest series of oil paintings, entitled The Bears of Katmai.



    Sue received her BA in Textiles and Fine Art from West Surrey College of Art and Design. Her work can be found in private collections as well as in the permanent collection of Th