The Queen Mother. Bill Bower, artist
The Queen Mother, the final painting in Bill Bowers’ series The Bears of Asheville, is now on display at Blue Dharma Fine Art in the Grove Arcade. The 36-by-48-inch acrylic-on-panel depicts the female bear that, along with her three cubs and a male bear, frequented Bowers’ backyard over the past year.
“The royal essence of the mother bear inspired me to create this elaborate painting,” says Bowers. “The subject matter was very personal to me, as the sow and her cubs lived nearby.”
Bowers’ relationship with the bears began when they developed a habit of sauntering into his carport looking for food in his trash receptacles. After an endearing but dangerous nose-to-nose encounter with a cub through a window screen, Bowers researched ways to keep the bears at a safe distance. Since then, he says, “I have been able to view them and talk to them through the windows of my home without danger.”
In The Queen Mother, Bowers adorned the mother bear with robes and a headdress to symbolize the importance and divinity of the animal kingdom. “The Bears of Asheville series was a wonderful project to accomplish,” he says. “The research and execution of this work is launching new visions of projects focusing on other animals that live in the area.”
Blue Dharma Fine Art is at 1 Page Avenue, Suite 137, in Asheville. Regular hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, or by appointment. To learn more, call 941.301.1409 or visit BlueDharmaFineArt.com.
