0903 Bear Day

In 0903 Bear Day, from the Jerry Yarnell School of Fine Art PBS television series, Jerry guides intermediate artists through a beautiful acrylic painting lesson featuring a black bear perched high on a rocky cliff overlooking a cascading mountain stream. This intermediate-level lesson is approximately 120 minutes and is painted on a 16 x 20 canvas. The finished painting features a series of waterfalls flowing between massive boulders, rugged rock formations, evergreen trees, and a towering mountain rising in the distance. A black bear resting on a high rocky outcrop adds an interesting wildlife focal point to this peaceful wilderness scene, while soft mist and hazy mountain colors create a beautiful sense of depth and natural atmosphere.

The cascading waterfalls and massive rock formations are among the most impressive features of this painting. Jerry demonstrates how to create the appearance of water flowing naturally over and between large boulders, using changes in color, carefully placed highlights, and directional brushstrokes to suggest movement. You'll learn how to develop realistic rock textures, rounded boulder shapes, and the contrasting light and shadow areas that give the rugged terrain its three-dimensional appearance. Special attention is given to the white water and smaller waterfalls as they descend through the rocky streambed, creating a convincing sense of movement and depth throughout the composition.

Another important part of this lesson is the black bear positioned on the elevated rocky ledge. Jerry demonstrates how to incorporate a wildlife subject into a large mountain landscape while maintaining natural proportions, believable form, and appropriate scale. This step-by-step acrylic painting tutorial also explores techniques for creating tall evergreen trees, rugged mountain peaks, rocky slopes, scattered vegetation, and softly misted distant forests. By using lighter colors, softened edges, and reduced detail in the background, Jerry creates realistic depth and distance while allowing the darker foreground rocks, trees, and flowing water to stand out. These fine art techniques help bring the different elements together into a convincing mountain wilderness scene.

Bear Day is an excellent lesson for intermediate artists who want to improve their skills in painting black bears, cascading waterfalls, rocky mountain streams, realistic boulders, evergreen forests, and distant mountain scenery. Jerry's step-by-step instruction combines important fine art techniques for creating flowing water, rock textures, wildlife, natural lighting, and misty backgrounds. The finished painting brings these subjects together into a beautiful wilderness landscape filled with rugged natural beauty, realistic depth, and the peaceful atmosphere of a mountain stream.

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