Large Bear Painting Monet slender birch rises through this

slender birch rises through this oil study of an autumn wood

Light catches the raised ridges of paint so the whole face seems to shimmer and move

A track curves gently through the deep snow in the foreground

lively brushstrokes

clear sky-blue and dabs of terracotta warm a pared-back

Large Bear Painting Monet slender birch rises through thisA great brown bear surges forward out of a storm of loose, expressive brushwork, one paw thrown towards the viewer in full charge. Painted with vigorous strokes, its shaggy coat dissolves into flurries of cream, ochre and grey that scatter like flung snow and spray around the body. The face is rendered with real intensity, mouth open and eyes fierce, while the edges of the form melt into the abstract background. The result is part portrait, part