That guy taking pictures while perched on a large rock at the Oregon Zoo, the one with the special​ Interest  in big cats just might be
Portland artist Berle Bledsoe. Bledsoe, a self taught artist, has been painting seriously for about twelve years. His first efforts were done
many years ago, but marriage, and raising a family,  and his work as a warehouseman for Unisource  intervened, and soon put art on the back burner.
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When he retired his wife  encouraged him to start painting again,and now he devotes many hours to his expanding career. Berle Is a regular at the Lake area Artist Show and the Lake Oswego Festival Of The Arts. Berle prefers prefers working from photos and is an expert at imposing Imagination and impression on reality. His first love is doing portraits, both of people and animals. Berle has a unique ability to see beyond the superficial and  reveal the inner beauty of his subject a talent  he brings to both his  portraits, and to his wildlife and landscape art work.
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He measures his success by whether a person Identifies with his subject and has a good feeling about it. When someone looks at his work and feels they have either been there, seen it, done it, or felt it. Berle feels like he has done his job well. He wants viewers to ​​connect with his art." (Belinki & Duprey Gallery​)