About | Bearwoodcreations

Artist Bio

Robert “Bear” Royal started experimenting and growing in his art on
the west coast of Canada where he developed a great love for wood
as a medium. He spent 20 years out there designing and building
furniture and acquiring an eye for lines and colors.
Residing in the Niagara region since 2009, he has continued to hone
his skills and explore through his art. Over the years reclaimed wood
has become the primary medium he works in. Robert has a great
appreciation for the weathering and patination found in old wood as it
has a look and feel that cannot be counterfeited. The “passing of time”
visually displayed in the patinas of aged wood connects him
emotionally with his own aging/mortality and so resonates at a deep
level.
Over the last 4 years Robert has had several very successful local
shows including multiple at Mahtay Cafe, a showing at the Grimsby
Public Art Gallery in 2020, winning 1st prize at the Crystal Beach Art
Show in 2024, and in February 2024 selling several pieces in an
exhibition at the John Mann Gallery. Most recently Rob’s work has hung in
the Niagara Falls Art Gallery and Morningstar Gallery. Over the past 4 years more than 75 reclaimed wood mosaics and sculptures have gone out to art collectors in Canada, the United States and Europe.

Artist Statement of Work

In personally seeking to make sense of life’s struggle and find meaning in its inherent suffering; I was forced to go beyond the purely intellectual and seek answers on its fringes where the utility of words breaks down.

My art provided a vehicle for me to explore those parts of myself that are beyond the reach of intellect alone. This is what I attempt to convey through my art - that there is meaning, purpose and beauty to be found in the struggle and decay we see all around us. In fact it is the pain and struggle, the overcoming of obstacles that allows for the meaning and purpose in our existence.

My approach as an artist is not to "create" beauty, but rather to expose and highlight the beauty that already exists in the chosen medium as a representation of what I see around me. Nature is "imperfect", asymmetrical, this is why I am drawn to reclaimed wood as a medium- it seems to me the purest representation of what exists around me in nature. If I look out over a landscape there is more decay than new growth visible in the scene. This is why starting with this "flawed" medium, I also place "mistakes" in my work to emphasize that death and decay are a defining characteristic of our reality, and not an aberration that detracts from the beauty of life. In fact they are defining elements of nature's beauty.

This tension between perfect/imperfect is different in every one of my pieces. There are no formulas. The interactions produced visually between the different media worked with demands a continual shifting on this front with sometimes greater, sometimes lesser manipulation required.

For me, choosing a theme to work is about trying to give insight into why we respond to a particular visual experience and expose what exactly makes for a “beautiful” or “moving” experience. The chosen subject will be one that facilitates this exploring and highlighting of the deeper elements which produce an emotional response. This primarily dictates what themes I explore in a given art series..

Aged and decaying wood is certainly not a traditional medium for artists. However, I find the colours and patinas of time and weathering make reclaimed wood a powerful conduit to express myself. I believe this medium visually conveys deep truths of our existence. The flawed and decaying medium of reclaimed wood is the purest representation of what I see around me and therein lies the reason it produces such an emotional response. It connects me with my own mortality and the beauty and meaning to be found in that.

I struggle to express the deeper levels of my emotion and experience. What I cannot express with words, I attempt to express in my art.