BEAR was the theme of the day

Again, there was a lot of wildlife to see before I even set up my easel to paint....3 black bear - all in different spots....

My best sighting was one along Antelope Creek - I watched for a while. The bear shimmied up a tree and jumped across the creek. So I thought I'd paint the creek if I could find a vantage point with a view - it could be a good setting to put a black bear into for a later studio painting.

I found this spot and set up my easel at the edge of the creek.

Antelope Creek   by Shirl Ireland
6" x 6"  plein air  oil

Then it was a drive over the BEARtooth Highway - the highest elevation for a paved highway in the Northern Rockies. It rises to 10,947 feet up there! Gorgeous scenery, but there sure was a REMARKABLE amount of snow along the way.

We were heading to Red Lodge, Montana to deliver paintings and sculpture for a Show at the Carbon County Arts Guild that opens July 2nd. After dropping off our work, we went back over the top and down into Yellowstone toward home. We were going through Lamar Valley right about sunset, so I enjoyed the 'color show'...

Then, we saw 2 MORE BEAR - a grizzly and a black bear this time. (You'll see the difference of the 'shoulder hump' on this grizzly photo, compared to the black bear photos above.)

Five BEAR sightings total and a drive over the BEARtooth Highway. Definitely a BEAR kind of day. Guess I better get my brushes going on a BEAR painting - to be posted later.