This is a pair of black Labs who are birding dogs. One partners was always keenly aware what the other was doing, the younger (in the foreground) often taking cues from the older, more experienced birder (background). Instinctive or learned, their teamwork and synchronicity were spellbinding.

This group of four feral wolves in Alaska fish in a favorite spot every morning. Whether wild or captive, they are never without a sense of play and humor. The pleasure of watching these inventing games and keeping peace within their pack is a joy to behold.

“What you are most unprepared for when you see a grizzly in the wild the first time is the fact that it is so much bigger than you could ever have imagined,” beams Bonnie Marris. “Part of the thrill is that they are so unpredictable¯they are friendly looking but dangerous, they look so soft and yet are so tough, they are so intelligent but so wild. “Watching grizzlies fish is one of my favorite things. They are so preoccupied with the fish and their skills are incredible. They track and corral the fish, even turn over rocks to see if the fish have gone under them. They are so intent on what they are doing they are not bothered by your presence. It is the ultimate artist’s meditation and they simply ignore everything else.
“I really do love Fish Tales. I love that you can see what the bear is concentrating on so attentively. I really wanted to show the roughness of the fur and the cold hardness of the claws. There are so many different patterns in the water, those on the surface and those below it. It’s a very serene painting even though the grizzly is hunting. I like to believe you can hear him breathing.”
Fish Tales was unveiled at the Masters of the American West Exhibition and Sale at the Autry National Center in Los Angeles. The popular painting is now available as both a MasterWork™ Fine Art Edition Canvas in an extremely low edition of 25 as well as a more moderate size Fine Art Edition in an edition of 75. Bring something truly wild and beautiful into your home and purchase one of Bonnie Marris’ Fish Tales today.

“Most wolf pups are born with blue eyes. When they are between two and four months old, the color will change over to the yellow-gold color of their mother’s eyes. By six months, the pups will be nearly her size,” Bonnie Marris tells us. “The pack to which she belongs will share in the feeding and caring of this litter, but most of the time they will be hers to contend with.”
“Wolf pups love to play. They will chase and wrestle with each other just as puppy dogs do. As is often the case in the wild, many of their games appear to be practice for the things they will do as adult wolves. When they are not wrestling with each other, any object becomes fair game for ‘the hunt’. Sticks, feathers, bones or even their mother’s tail is prey to be stalked and captured in the safety of their deep wood rendezvous site.”
A degree in zoology sets Bonnie apart from many wildlife artists. Her understanding of animal anatomy and training in field research gives her an edge when it comes to developing and executing a painting. But she will be the first to say that is not the true secret to creating a great painting. “There must be a passion about what you are painting that’s so strong it’s an obsession. A painter misses the mark when there’s technical skill and knowledge but no life. The animals must come alive.”
Grace Under Pressure is being offered in one size as a Greenwich Workshop Fine Art Edition of 85. This 30” x 20” giclee captures all the special passion and magic that Bonnie infused into her original painting. If you are wild about wolves and looking to bring something special into your home, you’ll find no greater value than Bonnie’s Grace Under Pressure.

The American Buffalo is a huge animal. As adults, the males are over five feet tall and can be up to nearly twelve feet in length. They can tip the scales at 2,000 pounds. There is a herd of nearly 3,500 of them in and around Yellowstone National Park. When the winter’s snow beings fall, they like to stick to ski trails and roads when the deep snow has made it almost impossible to move, but they are often forced to trudge their way through heavy drifts. The editors at "Art of the West" magazine chose "Heavy Drifting" as the cover of their 23rd Anniversary Issue, which also carried a feature story on Bonnie (www.aotw.com).

The fox’s physical brilliance is matched only by the brilliance of his mind. Cunning, sly and wily, the fox is adept at deception. There is nothing as beautiful – or as much fun – as watching as a red fox playing, courting and hunting, or as is the case here, relaxing. It’s like finding a little jewel in the forest.

“Monet had his garden in Givenchy, I have the Big Crooked,” reveals Bonnie Marris. “I almost feel guilty that I paint this spot so much, but every time I go it feels like I am seeing it for the first time. It’s a real creek near my cabin in northern Michigan. It’s one of those places where the light is wonderful, the sound is wonderful and the air is magic. You can just spend hours there letting the creek flow by. “Every time I go there is a new set of tracks from the most recent creatures to visit. Nearby, there is an active fox den. If you don’t see any when you come around, it’s a good bet that one of them just left. The creek is so crisp and clear that you can see deep into it, a great advantage for the foxes when the trout are running. I can imagine that they enjoy this place as much as I do, picking a spot to simply sit back and take it all in, just laying around listening to the Big Crooked roll.”
Bonnie Marris is recognized as one of the most important wildlife artists painting today. Her palette and style are distinctively her own, making a Marris painting identifiable from across the room. Art of the West’s November/December 2010 issue featured Bonnie as their cover story. Commenting on her blend of realistic and impressionistic painting they said,” . . . she wants the best of both worlds and seems to be finding it.”

What separates Bonnie Marris from other wildlife artists is not only her devoted treatment of her animal subjects but her meticulous attention to the scenery that frames them. The landscape acts as a muted but lovely secondary subject in Marris' dynamic wildlife paintings. The horses in "Morning Run" are the embodiment of freedom, pounding forward, needing only to run.
The personality of each horse and their motion can be clearly seen: the strong second-in-command just behind the leader, jockeying for position; the skittish and focused chestnut and the haughty, almost balletic grays at the borders of the group. Considered individually, the horses are magnificent; but as Bonnie Marris paints them, as a herd in motion, they are breathtaking.

Social Viewpoints was the winner of the David P. Usher Patrons’ Choice Award at the 2012 Masters of the American West! Take pleasure in this prized and privileged glimpse of the carefree nature of the untamed wolf. “Those of us who are social beings have many different ways of looking at things and many ways of communicating our opinions and feelings which is why I had so much fun creating this piece,” Bonnie Marris states. “You can read the viewpoints of each wolf and compare them to your own. I, myself, often feel my view of things is kind of askew from everyone else’s so I guess I'm the wolf in the middle. I don't know if the ‘painting police’ allow the main subject to be upside down but that just how this one just had to be!”
Marris’ Social Viewpoints gives you the chance to make a personal connection with the elusive side of life in the wilderness. This joyous work will be available in two sizes. The over-sized MasterWork™ Fine Art Canvas edition at 45" x 27" and in an edition of 15 makes you feel as if you are a member of the pack itself. The standard-sized Greenwich Workshop Fine Art Canvas, in an edition of 45, is a jewel to be admired. Whichever you choose, expect a one on one encounter with Canus lupus as you’ve never experienced before!

Pick an art magazine and the chances are that they have recently, or are preparing to, publish a story on the artist Bonnie Marris; most recently SouthWest Art, Western Art Collector and Art of the West magazines. She’s invited to participate in more of the major art shows than she can possibly supply and the invitations continue to pour in. The paintings she finishes apart from exhibitions are completed for major galleries. Collectors are drawn to Bonnie Marris’ paintings because the love she has for the animals she paints simply radiates from the canvas. This exhilaration is contagious as Marris’ skill with the brush and empathy for her subject brings to life the joyous freedom of the wild. One of the secrets to the success of her work is showing her subjects engaged in activities that we can easily relate to without imposing human interpretations upon the actions of animals.
With Summer Fields we have a perfect example of such a Marris work. Warm summer winds are blowing the leaves and grasses. The sun heats the colors and edges until they blend into one another. Horses' tails swish and calmness blankets the field. They rest together, best buddies, massaging each other's backs and listening to distant breezes.

"When my mare died, it took me a long time to bring myself to paint her. When I did, though, I remembered that she lived for that summer day when she could canter way out into the field and stand there, bathed in sunlight.
"This started out as a simple color study for a larger painting but there's just such simple beauty and purity in the image of a horse enjoying a summer day. It doesn't have to be my horse. I wanted to get the brilliance of the sun on those days when it's so bright that things look soft when you see them. The sun seems to melt all colors into each other. I blended the edges to make it easy on your eye."

Wolves have been hunted to almost extinction. Fortunately, Congress established a reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone and parts north. There was a devastating fire in Yellowstone as evidenced in the dead trees. Gradually, nature began its slow process of regrowth. So the trees and the wolves all symbolize a comeback . . . and a rebirth integrity.

Many people do not view the buffalo as wild. Tourists drive through Yellowstone, see buffalo grazing at a distance and think they are domesticated like cows. Nothing could be further from the truth. They're incredibly strong willed and fierce when they feel threatened. This image juxtaposes these powerful animals with a gentle setting - a typical, beautiful spring day in Wyoming filled with sunshine, flowers and (what buffalo really love) mud wallows.

There is a star, that, as the sun begins to rise, gets brighter. It is the only star visible in the morning sky. The Indians had many beliefs about this star, one of which was that all of God's creatures looked to this star as the new day begun. That, in itself, was unification and total harmony between things.
This is a red fox -"Vulpes fulva"- which is standing, early in the morning, by a small pond that he visits every day to look for crayfish and get a drink . . . maybe commune with other fox. It's one of those moments where you are so lucky to catch an animal in its private time, when it doesn't know you are there.

A wolf howl is an amazing, beautiful sound. One member of the pack will start to sing then others, one by one, each on a different note, in a strange, wonderous kind of harmony. Why do they sing? To let each other know where they are, to help establish territory and probably for many other reasons, unknown to humans. This wolf seems to be howling for happiness, celebrating life.