Is the Pope Catholic? Does a Bear ... um ...

Pensive Bear
Watercolor on Paper, 2007

Jenn asked Nate what he had painted here, and he told her "a bear." She was impressed, 'cause, well, it sure does look like a bear. So when I got home from work, she asked me what I thought it was. I paused for a long breath and said, "it's a bear." Jenn beamed. So did Nate, I think, and why not? He's starting to close the gap between what he sees in his head and what we see on the paper. Not that it matters in the end, of course. I'm sure the wealthy descendents of Jackson Pollock don't care about such clarity. Although I suspect Pollack was trying to paint bears, too, and just kind of sucked at it. Either that, or the bear exploded.