I started working on my paintings on wildlife eight years ago. I developed my passion for painting during my diploma course on Graphic Design back in 1992 where it was offered as part of the curriculum. Regrettably, a full time job after graduation prevented me from pursuing this any further but in 2007, driven by a urge to express myself artistically and my love and interest in wildlife, I decided to embark on a series of paintings to depict the beauty of threatened and endangered animals and to convey the great lost if they were to become extinct. The result is a collection of 17 paintings depicting a range of animal including amphibians, mammals, birds and marine-life.
Charles Darwin wrote in 'The Descent of Man' that "no other member in the whole class of mammals is coloured in so extraordinary a manner as the adult male mandrills". Their blue and red skin on their faces and their brilliant contrast colouring was what really inspired me to paint them. These colourful primates are threatened, hunted as bushmeat, and many Africans consider them to be a delicacy.
Acrylic on canvas 12 x 17 inches
These large, flightless birds inhabits the rain forests in New Guinea, Australia, and nearby islands. The head is topped by a leathery helmet-like projection of skin called a casque. The head and neck are bare of feathers and range in colour from iridescent blue to dark red. The composition of the painting set against an abstract green background is kept simple. I was careful in giving attention to the rough texture of the neck and almost coy facial expression to this incredible bird species. The southern cassowary is endangered in Queensland, Australia with habitat loss and fragmentation as the primary cause of decline.
Acrylic on canvas 12 x 17 inches
I wanted to capture these typically solitary carnivores in their harsh cold habitat. They are majestic creatures with their long and tapered bodies - huge round posteriors to a pointed noise, covered with a thick coat that is actually transparent but looks white under the arctic sun, especially after the moult period. They are formidable predators on the snow but now vulnerable as their homes are threaten by climate change - their habitat literally melting away.
Acrylic on canvas 12 x 17 inches
The Tiger is the biggest, the most iconic, and one of the most endangered of all cats. I tried to capture the regal trait of the tiger with their lush striped coat, each with a unique set of stripes, which helps to camouflage them as they stalk and ambush their prey. Three of the nine known tiger subspecies are now extinct.
Acrylic on canvas 12 x 17 inches
Not to be confused with the more common brown hares, these are much smaller and have shorter ears. They are very timid and if danger is near, they crouch motionless with their ears down and at the last minute, can dart uphill at high speed. After a short distance, they stop to stand up on their hind legs and look back at what startled them - this moment is what I have attempted to capture ; the out of focus foreground and background drawing the viewers attention to creature’s gaze. They were found across much of the UK in prehistoric times but today they are widespread only in Ireland and parts of Scotland.
Acrylic on canvas 12 x 17 inches
The Gray Wolf is distinguished from other Canis species by its larger size and less pointed features, particularly their ears and muzzle.Its winter fur is long and bushy, and predominantly a mottled gray in color, although nearly pure white, red, or brown to black also occur. Wolves are among the most charismatic and controversial animals in America, their howl emblematic of the country's last wild areas, a reminder of strength and beauty of the natural world. I wanted to capture the intensity of the wolf's gaze, as it looks directly back at the viewer.
Acrylic on canvas 12 x 17 inches
These mammals that tree-dwelling residents of the jungles of Central and South America, and are known for being slow-moving, and hence named "sloths". Here the pygmy three-toed sloth is shown in their natural habitat, quietly clinging on tree trunks, strange looking yet having beautiful in their own way. They are a critically endangered species because of human threats and predators. They are endemic to an island in Panama that is protected as a wildlife refuge and although the island has no inhabitants, visitors such as local people, fishermen and lobster divers hunt the sloths and sell their meat.
Acrylic on canvas 12 x 17 inches
This is one of four surviving gorilla subspecies found only in Uganda and the volcanic regions the span the borders of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Here the gorilla is painted in a contemplative mood, sitting on a grass patch, looking out. The main threat to gorillas is people – the encroachment of human civilisation. With only around 880 individuals in the wild, the mountain gorilla is listed as critically endangered.
Acrylic on canvas 12 x 17 inches
It has small features like a cat but the markings of a panda or raccoon. The red panda has reddish brown fur with distinct white marks on its face and tail, its whiskers white and long. I wanted to show it’s innocent, as it curiously emerged from under a branch. Red pandas lives in Asia and shares some of its habitat with the giant panda. Its endangered status is due mainly due to loss of habitat, hunting, and poaching; their greatest threat is therefore mankind.
Acrylic on canvas 12 x 17 inches
The yellowfin tuna are torpedo-shaped with dark metallic blue backs, yellow sides, and a silver belly.They can reach a total length of 2 m and reach a maximum weight of 200 kg but they can swim up to speeds of 60 kmp – here capture as it propels itself upwards from the water.5 out of the 8 tuna species are at "risk of extinction" due to overfishing, with the yellowfin tuna is close to qualifying for a threatened status in the near future.
Acrylic on canvas 12 x 17 inches
The pygmy seahorse is undoubtedly one of the most well camouflaged species in the oceans, being extremely difficult to spot amongst the gorgonian coral it inhabits. They have a fleshy head and body scattered with pink or red tubercles, a very short snout, and a long, prehensile tail. Here I have painted a pair gently floating in their habitat which so closely matches their colour and appearance.
Acrylic on canvas 12 x 17 inches
Also called the Red-crowned, they are a symbol of luck, longevity and fidelity. These revered birdsgrow up to 1.5 metres tall, with a massive wingspan of 2.5 metres. There are just over 2,000 left in the wild and they are considered endangered due to habitat loss. This pair of paintings shows the pair of cranes dancing above the frozen ice, frozen breath, in the Kushiro marshlands in Hokkaido.
Acrylic on canvas 12 x 17 inches (x2)
These beautiful fish are typically very bright orange that have three white stripes, one at the head, middle and tail. If you look really closely, you may notice that there are thin black lines around the white stripes. Also, the tips of their fins have a thin black rounded stripe. Here shown swimming in the anemone which they have a special relationship; they are a large help to the anemone as they clean the anemone by eating the algae and other food leftovers on them. They also protect the sea anemones by chasing away polyp-eating fish. They might become endangered due to the aquarium trade due to the popularity of the movie ‘Finding Nemo’.
Acrylic on canvas 12 x 17 inches
These majestic and enigmatic creatures are often referred to as the Arctic Owl or the Great White Owl and can be found in Greenland, Iceland, Canada and the Northern parts of USA. These large birds have a rounded head with yellow eyes and a black bill, their overall plumage is speckled with thin and high bar – painted here contentedly on the snow with their piercing yellow eyes. The Snowy Owl is endangered due to the fact that these owls have a hard time finding enough food. Poachers also kill them in order to make money from the lovely feathers.
Acrylic on canvas 12 x 17 inches
These birds are found only in a small area of Bolivia and are listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. There are estimated to be fewer than 500 individuals remaining in the wild, and its population continues to decrease despite intense conservation efforts. My painting conveys the playful character of these beautiful birds with their vivid yellow and blue feathers.
Acrylic on canvas 12 x 17 inches
The rain-forest amphibian is painted here with its bulging red eyes, huge, webbed orange feet and bright blue-and-yellow flanks. I wanted to convey the sense of curiosity he has with the viewer, who is perhaps not such an unwelcome intruder. Red-eyed tree frogs are not endangered but their habitat is shrinking at an alarming rate.
Acrylic on canvas 12 x 17 inches
