I made this painting as a gift for the friend who introduced me to the world of bear collecting. This was inspired by two things, first, a series of paintings by Caroline Shotton (you can see one from the series, Best of British, here) and by the recipient's love for her bears. The models for this were Cheeky Othello and the Steiff 1912 Rattle Bear replica.

This was done in acrylics, which I don't generally use (I prefer the softness and shading I can get from watercolors), but they lent themselves to the strong clarity of this piece very well. I also managed to learn some interesting things about the composition of the british flag in creating this piece. I won't put it here, but it's worth looking up if you're into random trivia.