Painting with Bears

“Painting with Bears” is the passion of Stephanie Gengel, an artist who lives around many Black Bears in the Blue Ridge Mountains. As a young child growing up in the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina, Stephanie fell in love with all wildlife, and especially bears. Portraying animals became her favorite subject to paint while studying techniques with her father, Hubert Shuptrine, a renowned master watercolorist whose coffee table book “Home to Jericho” decorated many homes in the South during the 70’s and 80’s. His art beautifully captured people, their stories, and places that many remember of the dying South. Stephanie benefitted from his years of tutelage, and has now decided to devote the remainder of her art career to painting what she loves most- Bears! Her goal is to capturein her paintings the soul and majesty of the Black Bear. With her husband Len, and the help of his son, they have created a 501 © 3 called “Blue Ridge Bears” “whose mission is to help educate folks of the Blue Ridge Mountains on the Misunderstood Black Bear.The non profit offers information on “Safety, Stewardship, and Love of our Black Bears so that we can all live in harmony.”

Stephanie loves to paint with the bears and for the bears!

In collaboration with Bill Lea Photography, we are sharing Stephanie’s current series of paintings titled “Painting with Bears.” These paintings are of the bears that she knows personally and loves. Each one has fluffy fur, vibrant blue colors, and will bring warmth to any mountain home! Buying direct from the artist will save you 50% off of the sale price… for example you might typically pay $8,000 to $12,000 for these stunning pieces of art in a gallery, but if you are purchasing directly from Stephanie, you will pay $4,000 to $6,000 with free delivery in the continental USA. A limited number of prints can be purchased from $400 to $1,200 dollars depending on the size that you would like. Please remember that 25% of the final price will be donated to Blue Ridge Bears to help our beloved Black Bears.