Large Bear

Item Description

ABOUT THE BEAR:

“Three Bears is a realistic grizzly bear cuddling two beloved teddy bears. Because I make teddy bears and draw inspiration from the antique bears of yesteryear, I knew I wanted to work classic teddies into my design. The thought of a real bear having a teddy (or two; the arm posture really demanded two) made me smile, and I knew I would have fun using a different sculpting style for a natural (but friendly) bear versus sculpting representations of stuffed toys. Of course once you have three bears, there has to be a Goldilocks. She's a rag doll, in the style of Raggedy Ann, and as befits her mischievous nature, she's sneaking up on the bears. I wanted Goldilocks to be a surprise for the viewer - you don't notice her right away, but when you do, you smile. I very much enjoyed creating this big grizzly bear and the toys.  I built up the original bear sculpture using a combination of materials, roughing out the bulkier portions with carved Styrofoam, and covering that over with epoxy putty and Bondo. I think I added about thirty pounds of additional material to the original fiberglass shell. It was a lot of work, but seeing people enjoying it absolutely made it worthwhile.”  - Kim Parkhurst

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Kim Parkhurst is an artist and illustrator living in Winchendon, MA. Besides painting traditionally and digitally, Kim also sculpts, creates mohair teddy bears and original dolls, spins yarn, and hooks wool rugs. Most of Kim's art depicts friendly animals in storybook settings. Her style is whimsical but faithful to nature, and exhibits her love for the old, the unusual, critters and wild things. Her bears and dolls usually incorporate unique materials, like shoebutton eyes or vintage textiles. Kim's work can be seen on her website at http://www.toadbriar.com

Item Special Note

This bear is a large bear.  The measurements are as follows:

Height:  54" from tip of feet to top of ears, 44" from base (where the bottom sits on base) to ears.

Width: circumference - approximately 92" around at the widest point (around the paws and back).  Footprint width is 21" and depth is 31".

Weight:  This bear weighs approximately 65 lbs.

Other useful information: The bear will come with the log that it was displayed on in the exhibit, and will include the plaque on the log. 

The bear is coated with a UV protective clear coat so that the paint will not fade with exposure to the sun.