Night Swim

Night Swim Patient as the moon, steady as the current, and the salmon are none the wiser. Inspired by the immersive dioramas of natural history museums, this mixed media painting sets realistic wildlife portraiture against a richly patterned, two-toned backdrop. An elder bear and a cub wade through water rendered as a vibrant turquoise textile of salmon, lily pads, and foliage, while above them a starlit sky is filled with simplified spruce trees and faint mountain outlines. The bears are painted in warm, detailed realism — wet fur catching light — against a world that feels more like a dream than a river. Oil and acrylic gouache on birch board panel | 16" x 20"