Crabtree Falls

Wednesday, December 30, 2020

The Spark

Attached is a digital illustration of a bear encounter I had several years ago.  It's what started my bear obsession. Now you know!  A very talented Asheville artist (Helen Nagan) helped recreate the memory.

This is the story:  I was driving home after playing badminton.  I turned onto a road, and right there, standing in front of my car, was a large bear.  We locked eyes. I reached for my phone to take a photo, yet, much to my frustration, realized I had left it at home.  After a few seconds, the bear nonchalantly turned around and walked slowly down the center of the road.  It then moved over to the sidewalk.  When I pulled up alongside, the bear climbed up on the fence and then jumped onto the tree.  It was surreal.  We then went our separate ways!

After that encounter, I said I would always make sure to have a couple of cameras in the car - at least my phone and a small camcorder.   

I went back to the scene a few weeks ago and took a photo from inside my car, in that exact spot, to give the artist a visual of everything from my vantage point that day.  I wanted her to draw the photo I was unable to take.  She drew the scene, added the bear as I described it, and then used her software to paint it.  Turned out great!



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