Grizzly Bear - alla prima

This is a small painting I did last week of a grizzly bear. This painting was done "alla prima" meaning I did the entire painting in one painting session rather than building up multiple layers of paint throughout many sessions. The entire piece took me around 3.5 hours, much less time than I typically spend on a piece. I wanted to do the painting alla prima as an exercise to help me loosen up my painting style a little bit. With this style of painting you only have one shot and you are forced to concentrate on the most important aspects of the idea, rather than the intricate details. I used looser brush strokes and tried to build up the texture of the paint in some areas to add interest. Overall I think the painting has a fresh look that I hope I can transfer into some of my studio work.