River King

A grizzly stands chest-deep in moving water, a fresh catch held firmly in its jaws. The vertical grain of the red cedar carries the current through the lower third of the piece, blurring the boundary between the burned image and the natural wood.

The bear's coat required the most sustained work, building density through hundreds of individual strokes to separate wet fur from dry, shadow from highlight. The lighter heartwood of the cedar provided the structure for the water's surface and the fish's scales, allowing the natural color variation to do what an additional medium would in a painting.