A New Be(a)rliner

Posted bySarahPosted inArt, water colorTags:, , , , , , , , , , ,

 

polar bears
Polar bear mom and cub (water color on paper; Dez. 2018)

You might already have heard about it, but in case you haven’t – here in Berlin we are proud to present a new polar bear cub!! (Remember the hype over Knut the Polar Bear a couple of years ago?)

The news prompted me to make this little water color you see above. 🙂

The cub (born on 1 Dec 2018) – no name as its sex couldn’t be determined yet – and its mom Tonya are still in their den, where there will stay without any interference from the staff until Spring, as young polar bear cubs are very sensitive to any kind of pathogens.

And for those of you, who like me can never get enough of polar bears, the Tierpark Berlin shares some videos from inside the den. Prepare yourself for a very serious case of cuteness overload! 😉

 

Published by Sarah

Artist & Illustrator

72 thoughts on “A New Be(a)rliner”

  2. I actually remember the Knut polar bear a few years back! It was all over the news in Australia, like it was some animal royalty in your part of the world 😀 This new cub looks sooo cute and looks like it likes snuggles and sleep. What a good life lol. I have never seen a polar bear in my life (at least I don’t remember), but maybe one day I will visit Berlin and have a look at them 😀

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    1. It´s been a huge hype here in Europe, people travelled all over the world to see Knut! Sadly he´s no more though. 😦
      Let’s keep our fingers crossed that this new cub will have a happy and long life! (well as happy as an animal can be in captivity…)
      Let me know should you ever come to Berlin, I´d love to show you around! 😀

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      1. So sad Knut is gone but he did sound like a very popular polar bear if not the most popular of this generation. This new cub already looks so happy and hopefully it will adjust to its enclosed life (pros and cons to this kind of life but this is life anyway…).

        If I come to Berlin I will let you know. You already seem like a great tour guide 😀

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  6. Oh my, Sarah, this is one of the best paintings you’ve accomplished, and that’s saying a lot. You got the muscles and shading perfect. It is just beautiful, not overworked, and shows the delicate bond between mama bear and cub.

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      1. I’m so glad you explained your method because I sometimes do the same. You have to understand what’s essential in order to pare down but that requires knowing everything. Looking at this painting again, I’m still in love with it.

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      2. I sometimes even do this paring down with clay too, a sense and understanding for anatomy is essential when forming human or animal shapes.
        And thank you again – to know that someone is in love with my painting makes me smile and do a happy-dance! 😀

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    1. Thank you so much, Chris! 😄
      Wouldn’t that be great to cuddle him/her? But like you said – not a wise thing to do except you want to end up being mommy’s snack. 😉 Cheers!

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    1. Thanks so much, Marlene! 🙂
      I wish for that too, even if we would start this very day with reducing our carbon output radically, it would probably come to late for the polar bears. Our only hope can be for them to adapt themselves really fast to new ways of hunting etc. Since they´re really clever, and there have already been spotted half-breeds of polar bears and brown bears, I´m cautiously confident that at least a small percentage go them will manage. Let´s keep our fingers crossed!

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  14. How gorgeous, Sarah, both your painting and the video. Speaking of the ability to convey expression (as we have been), your painting does that so wonderfully. Do polar bears that live in captivity hibernate? Perhaps it is cold enough in your part of the world to induce a form of hibernation. Please do not feel that I expect you to know the answer to this question. I am just thinking aloud. ❤ Regards, Tracy.

    We have polar bears in a popular theme park (climate sub-tropical). It would chill you to the bone.

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    1. Thanks so much, Tracy! These kind of comments from fellow artists always mean the world to me!
      Actually polar bears don´t really hibernate, at least the male ones don´t. The female bears simply go into hiding so to speak for a couple of months to protect their cubs from being detected by male polar bears, who sadly eat them. During that time she lives on the fat reserves she build up before. Sleeping helps to wind down the metabolism. So the zoos try to imitate this kind of behavior by seal them off, knowing they wouldn’t want food anyway.
      Sorry for the lecture, but you´ve asked. 😉

      Keeping polar bears in a sub-tropical climate seems barbarous to me! Around here it´s not even cold enough for them, at least during summer, but I guess it´s okay. The preservation of a species should only go so far, I think, and I´m not sure, that that´s what in the mind of the theme park operators. 😦

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      2. Happy you see it that way, Tracy! I´m known for droning on and on about subjects dear to my heart, no matter if anybody cares to listen – lol! 😀 😉

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  20. You’re right; total cuteness overload. Junior kicking mum in sleep must be universal — the boychild did the same to me.

    Your painting is beautiful, and your skill continues to grow Sarah. Awesome!!!
    😻

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    1. Hehe! 😉 Must be really something universal. At least these feet are pretty small and I´m not even sure she noticed it!! LOL!
      Thanks so much, Su! That´s such a wonderful thing to say! (Nothing worse than stagnation in art, or in anything really.) Have a lovely weekend! xxx

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    1. Thanks so much, dear friend!! 😀 ❤ Wouldn't it be awesome to make such a video yourself? But then I guess, one would end up as dinner. 😉
      Have a beautiful weekend, too! Hugs! xoxo

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      1. Ha, I would never dare to put myself between a mother bear and her baby. I know too well the maternal instinct! Much love and hugs! xoxo

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