Medium: Watercolor, Digital/Photoshop, Image Size: 22”h x 18″w, ©2005.

At the time this design was created, my husband and I owned Trekker Designs, an apparel decorating company, and one of the things we did was to screen print our designs onto apparel products and novelty gifts and sell them to our wholesale clients. One of our biggest clients was the Black Bear Diner Corporation. This design was one of the many black bear artworks we created which were printed on clothing, mugs, and cards that we sold to Black Bear Diner to sell in their diners and to be worn by employees. I thought it would make a cute, anthropomorphic bear design of my favorite recreation activity-hiking! Unfortunately, though I thought this would make a great shirt for the diners to sell, the corporation decided not to carry this design.

As all bears know, if you go not, you know not. This happens to be my personal quote, so I said it is an ancient bear proverb in the design. It’s insightful knowledge because you can’t experience the world unless you get out and see it.

Painted in watercolor, scanned into the computer, floated, graphics, colors, effects, and text were done in Photoshop.

Reproduction Available on Etsy.