Ed Bear Miller

I am consumed by a 21st-century admiration for our devastated natural world. Bridges, ships, and human forms in wild and urban-industrial spaces serve as motifs for contemplating humanity’s notions of liberation and progress in light of the biosphere’s diminishing robustness. My hope is always that the canvas I am working on will graduate to become pure poetry of the spirit, but I generally settle for fresh, gritty paintings with soul. Painting for me resembles swimming. I plunge in and stroke away, exploring and processing the forms and tones I encounter until I either reach a realm of strength and satisfaction or struggle to shore feeling weak and lost. My pieces originate in the realist, gesture-driven impulses of Courbet and Bellows, but I push for wilder, more mystical energy. I painted and studied history at Reed College and taught high school history for more than ten years before becoming a full-time painter in 2009. I am a member of the Foundry Gallery in DC, and am represented by the Corscaden Barn of Art in Upstate New York, and Octavia Gallery in New Orleans.

Edward Bear Miller was born and raised in Washington, DC and paints local landscapes and urban-industrial spaces from life and from photos, depending on the weather. He also paints portraits and figures, often in familiar settings. His B.A. is in History from Reed College (’94) and he earned a Master’s in Teaching Social Studies from Lewis & Clark College before teaching History, English, and Spanish for more than ten years in Washington State; Quito, Ecuador; and in DC-area high schools. Ed started painting in oils at St. Albans School and continued painting throughout his college career, including during a six-month apprenticeship with Pacific Northwest artist Philip McCracken in 1994. He enjoyed several summers of success as an Adirondack landscape painter before deciding to devote himself to painting full-time in 2009. He is represented by the Corscaden Barn of Art in Upstate New York, and the Octavia Gallery in New Orleans, and is a member of the Foundry Gallery in Washington, DC.