bear as black as soot

This semi-transparent Be@rbrick with a billowy black pattern was designed by a Brooklyn-based artist known in the designer toy community as West One. A rare bear with only 1.08% availability, it was released two years ago as part of Series 10.

I decided to feature it now because I recently saw the paintings of my other artist friend, Popo San Pascual, and they reminded me so much of this bear. They were called the Wig Series, which Popo said were inspired by the swirling lines of curly hair.

When I looked closely at one painting, I noticed that the strokes were far too smooth to have been made by a brush. The artist later revealed to me that it was a 'candle soot' painting.

Picture this: He fastened his canvas onto the ceiling, lit a paraffin candle, and slowly moved the burning wick across the blank surface, creating soft circular strokes of black soot.

"Wouldn't that fade?" I asked him. He answered, "I've sprayed it with varnish..."

Personally, I liked the stark color scheme, and the fact that it was mainly black. Like red, it's a color that almost never fails to make a strong – and lasting – impression.