2019. CHARCOAL ON PAPER. 3’ X 3’9”.

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Spirit Bear is a very special mural to Tang. It represents an emotional time in her life. This artwork is created for her art show at Deer Lake Gallery, Distant Tales.

Spirit Bear was the first drawing Tang completed after she lost her best friend and dog of 15 years, Cookie. Cookie is a miniature schnauzer that always followed her to her art studio. Initially this drawing was much larger and had two grizzly bears, a mother and her cub. The mother gazed at her cub with gentle eyes, but the cub looked lifeless. Countless hours and attempts were made with trying to work on the drawing, but Tang was unable to make the cub come to life. The cub was a constant reminder of Cookie for her.

After about a month, she attempted to re-work on this mural. With scissors, the drawing was split in two, and she completely removed the cub from the drawing. Without the cub, the drawing took a completely different direction and feel from the initial stages. The mother grizzly came alive and the scene transformed into one where she fights for her survival in the wild and hunts for her next meal. The will to fight and move on came over the mother grizzly.