The painter gets up close and personal with wildlife to share her experiences through art.
When Michigan State University graduate student Bonnie Marris headed out for a party with her zoology professor in 1980, little did she realize the night would change her life and set her on the path toward a career as a wildlife artist. Her hosts owned an original David Shepherd painting; she spent the evening in dumb rapture absorbing every inch of it. The next day, convinced she’d been within 5 feet of a bull elephant, Marris knew she’d found her life path — to spend real time with wild animals and somehow give the experience to everyone.
Cowboys & Indians: You were born, raised, and continue to live in Michigan, where there’s no shortage of wildlife. How do you discover your subjects?
Bonnie Marris: Finding animals in the wild is the luck of the draw. I’ve never been lucky photographing bull moose. My husband will tell me there are four huge bulls over there and when I get there, they’re gone. While following wolf tracks, I came across a group of mountain goats in perfect lighting. (I like early morning or late-evening light.) While following a Dall ram up a mountain, I saw a beautiful white wolf. That’s how it goes. We sat at an elk carcass for an eternity waiting for a grizzly or wolf to surely come dine and got beautiful coyote photos.
C&I: The photos you take and the time you spend observing — are they the foundations of the profound intimacy of your wildlife paintings?
Marris: Intimacy demands trust, and trust kind of demands that I appear inept and lazy to a subject. They are pretty sure I don’t have any sinister intentions and that I don’t move as fast as they do. I think it might be either chemicals or visual markers that I give off, probably both. I’ve had a coyote come and sit about 4 feet from me on the side of a hill while scanning the valleys for bears. He would look at me occasionally, and when I would get up and hike, he tacked alongside. But I have sat for hours with a chicken carcass on my lap hoping to convince a crow to be friends and gotten no response.
C&I: How about some of your really far-flung wilderness adventures?
Marris: I do one or two major field trips every year, traveling, camping, and hiking to find the animals and landscapes that I don’t see here in Michigan. Those trips can last anywhere from a week to six weeks depending on the luck of the elements. It’s hard to get great shots and inspiration in under six days of rain or heavy snow, although some of my best grizzly pictures I took in a huge freak snowstorm in Alaska. ... The snow was deep and fresh, and the big grizzlies were still out foraging. Hiking above the timber line, I came over a hill and there in front of me was a gorgeous grizzly digging up ground squirrels, tossing them in the air and playing like a puppy. He or she barely acknowledged my too-close intrusion and went about its fun while I took photo after photo. At that point I could only think what a unique obituary I would get.
My encounters with wolves and coyotes and fox, both wild and captive, are my favorites. I began following packs and studying them while in college. All are marvelously clever, shy, secretive, and playful. I have had camera straps tugged off my lap by a coyote. Once, after having been camped on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula and seeing only tracks of wolves and no howling, a pack of 25 finally came out of hiding and let me watch them play.
C&I: You enjoy portraying bison. Is there a standout story about one of those encounters?
Marris: I love painting buffalo with the different textures of their capes and horns and the sage they live in, the blended colors of their coats. October Winter was done from a trip to Yellowstone when it suddenly snowed with beautiful sunlight on the snow. I tripped while I was photographing these guys and fell on my face right there.
C&I: Eventually you have to spend time in the studio painting.
Marris: My creative process changes hourly, and I don’t know whether the time in front of the canvas compels me to head for the wilderness or if seeing the wolves and bears pushes me back into the studio — it’s both, really. Regardless of how many photos I’ve taken for my files, I get the unbearable need to go back out and get more. An idea or whole complete painting will form in my head and I can’t wait to start it.
Bonnie Marris is represented by Trailside Galleries in Jackson, Wyoming, and Scottsdale, Arizona; and Broadmoor Galleries in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She’ll be participating in the Settlers West Summer Show on May 5 in Tucson, Arizona; Prix de West June 8 – 9 in Oklahoma City; the Coeur d’Alene Art Auction on July 28 in Reno, Nevada; and Jackson Hole Art Auction September 14 – 15 in Jackson, Wyoming.
From the April 2018 issue.
