Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 159 - 5.26.16

#saveourseaice

Harts Pass No. 300!!!!!!!!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card No. 158 - 5.25.16

Astro Bears!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 157 - 5.24.16

If polar bears were farmers, I'm pretty sure they'd work in eastern Washington.

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 156 - 5.23.16

Yesterday was World Turtle Day... and I picked up where I left off with the adventurous little bear from last week. I'm liking these color washes too, so perhaps a few more like this to come!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 155 - 5.20.16

Another BIKE MONTH post to end the week :) Since Friday was "bike to work" day, this little bear gets to ride/read on some sort of sic-fi arctic snow-cat cycle -- or something like that!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 154 - 5.18.16

Polar bear cubs -- in nervous anticipation of another warm summer. Too little ice and too much swimming -- even for these most awesome of maritime mammals...

Harts Pass No. 299

As per usual, the crack reporting team over at the WBN (Wolverine Broadcasting Network) presents a spot-on synthesis of pop culture and environmental reporting!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 153 - 5.18.16

Celebrating BEAR AWARENESS WEEK with some adequately accurate depictions of our three North American species. From left to right: Grizzly Bear, Polar Bear, and Black Bear. Can YOU name several characteristics that set these critters apart? Visit the Defenders of Wildlife Bear Awareness Week page to see how much you know!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 152 - 5.17.16

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 151 - 5.16.16

Yesterday I sent my 151st Polar Bear Post Card to President Obama. It seemed like a fine time to reaffirm my commitment to the project... and to promise that I'll keep sending them until January 20th, 2017. And so it goes!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 150 - 5.15.16

 

Imagine a sub-adult polar bear cub... Born in perhaps November or December of 2014, this young bear has just emerged from his winter den for the second time. He will spend the next several months fine tuning his "bearness" - growing bigger and stronger with maybe a similar aged brother or sister. He is preparing the best way he knows how for life on his own. Next winter, he will be alone, and next summer he will struggle mightily to navigate an Arctic that is more unpredictable than ever before. Our combined efforts to reduce carbon emissions will make this world a friendlier place. Take your own #climateaction to #keepitintheground and help our President and the world create #monumentsforall #wearethearctic

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 149 - 5.14.16

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 148 - 5.13.16

"Bigger fish..."

... although technically these are both marine mammals - and can swim with the best of them!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 147 - 5.12.16

May is National Bike Month, so expect to see a few more cycling bears. You know, cutting down on their carbon emissions etc.. Ride on!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 146 - 5.12.16

Harts Pass No. 298

Another quick musing on the nation's first "National Mammal" - with wolverines!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 145 - 5.10.16

Congratulations to the American Bison - our first official National Mammal!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 144 - 5.9.16

Just shapes and patterns today -- plus a polar bear of course!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 143 - 5.8.16

On of the MANY lasting images from our trip to the Arctic last fall, was that of a mother polar bear standing boldly between her cub and a large adult male. She sensed him coming through an impenetrable fog, took a stance and stared him down. Yesterday, I painted this card for the President, and for moms: "Happy Mother's Day!"

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 142 - 5.6.16

No polar bears where I live here in Winthrop, WA, but we do have mountains, springtime sunflowers (arrowleaf balsamroot) and wolves. Washington's wolves have made a significant comeback in the eight years since the first verified pack at Lookout Mountain, but the balance between people and the natural world is constantly hard to strike. 

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 141 - 5.5.16

Yesterday's Cinco de Mayo bear -- with a serious nod to Oaxacan Folk Art from Mexico.

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 140 - 5.5.16

Polar bears, of course, and also Peter Brown's excellent middle grade novel, The Wild Robot, on my mind today. Gouache over acrylic making some nice background textures...

Harts Pass No. 297

The annual Sunflower Marathon, my spring track coaching, and a new book on the legendary Czech Olympian, Emil Zatopek, converge in this week's Harts Pass.

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 139 - 5.4.16

Apropos of "Star Wars Day," our carbon outputs have a direct relationship to the state of climate change. We (and the Arctic) are trapped in a vicious cycle -- ahem, ala Mr. Solo -- and we should support the President and his plans to limit emissions. May the 4th be With You! 

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 138 - 4.30.16

A teenager in the house as of this weekend... Look out world! 

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 137 - 4.29.16

Still catching up, so bonus bears for the day!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 136 - 4.29.16

44 Bears on my 44th Birthday for the 44th President of the United States!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 135 - 4.28.16

This project, by its nature and approach is a relatively whimsical and fun attempt at advocacy -- with healthy respect for how minuscule my little routine is in the relative scheme of the President's day-to-day. Still, even children's book illustrators with wacky side projects need to blow off a little steam now and then. So here you go: GRRRRRRRR!!!!! 135 post cards in and still keeping my eye on the prize of a Monument status for the 1002 and Alaska's coastal plain! Pick up a pencil and send a post card of your own :)

Harts Pass No. 296

With thanks to Bruce Moffat for sending along the story about Wolverine Search & Rescue!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 134 - 4.26.16

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 133 - 4.25.16

And sometimes it's just a feeling - a color - a gesture - a movement of the paint on paper.

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 132 - 4.24.16

The Earth Day theme continued...

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 131 - 4.21.16

Happy Earth Day!

Harts Pass No. 295

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 130 - 4.20.16

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 129 - 4.19.16

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 128 - 4.18.15

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 127 - 4.17.16

A little crisis of confidence with the balance between work, coaching, life, and the Post Card Project last week... but anything worth doing is still worth doing! Only two cards last week - alas - but I'm back in the race and will try to make up some ground.

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 126 - 4.13.16

From Thomas Hart Benton's Achelous & Hercules (1947) at the National Portrait Museum. Technically speaking, the bull here represents Achelous, the River God, being tamed by the Herculean people of the midwest (and the Army Corps of Engineers) -- so I probably should have painted my polar bears over the bull -- fighting for all he's worth. Still, one of my favorite paintings from the visit even if the parable doesn't quite fit... Check out the link above. It's a HUGE painting and this is just one small part of it. Terrific colors and forms!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 125 - 4.11.16

Still getting caught up after last week's spring break. It was a really nice family trip, and I do know that the Washington, D.C. - themed post cards will continue :) Stay tuned!

Harts Pass No. 294

Spring finally sprung while we were away last week on break. Appropriately a little cooler and damp to end the week, but multiple days of 70 degrees and sunshine melts a lot of snow and gets the new leaves cranking along :) And yes, the bears should be getting up again too!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 124 - 4.9.16

Another minor "spring break delay" to my posting of this card, but I successfully completed another Washington, D.C. themed bear for the President on our flight home. This one is in honor of Mahler's 1st Symphony -- which we were pleased to hear at the Kennedy Center on Thursday night. The pattern in the background comes from the ceiling tiles -- which we were VERY close to in our tippy top row balcony seats :) The music was terrific and there were no less than eight basses -- just so you know!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 123 - 4.6.16

Bears gettin' familiar with the D.C. Metro -- and LOTS of great walkin' around!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 122 - 4.5.16

SO much to take in during our trip to the Holocaust Museum, but the images of children and the continued resolve of the Jewish people take center stage in this 3rd edition of the Polar Bear Post Card Project. With much thanks to Victoria Barnett for her patient expertise taking us around the museum, and to my father-in-law, John Roth, for all of his work in the area of Holocaust studies as well.

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 121 - 4.4.16

"The mere knowledge that such a work could be created makes me twice the person that I was."

- Goethe, 1787

From the Wonder exhibit at the Renwick Gallery. Amazing art by Janet Echelman and many others!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 120 - 4.3.16

A spring break trip from Washington State to Washington, D.C. -- and the polar bears will be hanging out in the zip code of the President for a few days!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 119 - 4.2.16

A Polar Bear Post Card Happy Birthday to my bother Colby. Sorry, the actual card is in the mail to President Obama, but so it goes :) Have a good one Colb!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 118 - 4.1.16

April Fools humor - Polar Bear Post Card style!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 117 - 3.30.16