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I painted another plywood cutout bear this year for the upcoming Spring Auction Gala at  Woodlands Wildlife Refuge. Woodlands is the only  refuge facility in NJ licensed to handle bears. They do an incredible job rehabilitating orphaned and injured animals for release back into the wild. They are currently caring for 9 bear cubs in addition to the foxes, possums, squirrels and raccoons that arrive on a daily basis.

For more information about Woodlands: http://woodlandswildlife.org.

You can find videos and stories featuring current residents on their FB page: http://www.facebook.com/WoodlandsWildlifeRefuge

Below is the bear I painted last year.

Can’t seem to find a photo of the bear I painted two years ago but here’s a skunk I contributed as a companion piece (purchased by the same bidder)

While working on illustrations for the picture book “Broke Leg Bear” I was constantly drawing bears. I even tried to knock out a couple of cartoons and submitted them to The New Yorker (rejected). I’ve met with the cartoon editor, Bob Mankoff, a few times and he has offered some encouraging words  (and insightful criticism) but I’ll have to submit several cartoons every week consistently for several months before I can hope to get anything into the magazine. Will have to totally immerse myself into the cartooning mindset to pull that off.