A behind the scenes look at one of my paintings in progress! Sharing a quick look into my process for round three of this grizzly bear. My goal is to make his muzzle feel like it’s coming right off the page toward you. To pull off that illusion, I have to balance hard versus soft edges. I keep the high-contrast texture right at the focal point, while intentionally desaturating the colors and softening the fur as it moves into the background. It's a challenging technique, but it gives the wildlife portrait a truly lifelike, naturalistic presence.