171/2" x 401/8", mixed media on board, 1994
"I had been looking for a good subject for a painting of unusual size for a long time. It is not so common in the classical art world to crop the subject of a painting, but in a long horizontal piece, one can. I see it as a new vision of composition. Paintings of wolves in landscape are nice, but they have been seen so many times. I wanted to concentrate on the spirit of the arctic wolf and feel myself a part of the pack, discussing a strategy for our next hunt. Having fantasies such as these helps me create more uncommon paintings.
Although quite limited in the painting, the background is very important in this
scene. It is typical tundra scenery, and it must tell the viewer about the habitat
of these magnificent white creatures."-C.B.
191/2"x25", mixed media on board, 1988
"This painting expresses my longing to get as close as possible to what I think is one of the most splendid of the big cats of the world, the cougar. The big cats are my favorite subjects, but because I am so fond of the scenery of the northern hemisphere my choice is limited to the cougar, lynx and bobcat.
The challenge for me in the painting was to depict action. It was difficult to capture the effect of the cougar's elastic walk by only showing a small portion of the animal's body. For the background, I chose high grass because the color complemented the animal. Green mosses, in this case, would not have been good.
To me, one of the most magnificent things in nature is a cat's eyes, and thus it is the most important part of my painting."-C.B.