"Living Ivory"

Over the last month I have been preparing for this new rhino painting of three young rhinos I saw and photographed in the Kruger National Park in South Africa last October. I have been looking forward to painting rhinos for a very long time now, as this is a subject very close to my heart. Poaching of rhinos has escalated beyond control... the rhino's horns are highly coveted in southeast Asia for their supposed healing powers to cure cancer, diabetes and hangovers!A kilogram fetches about $20,000 - with a single horn weighing about 22 pounds.

Last year, 1,004 rhinos were illegally killed compared with 668 the previous year, most of these poaching incidences occur in Kruger National Park which is roughly the size of England and obviously very difficult to protect.

Currently there are thought to be about 25,00 African rhinos left.

I am hoping this painting is going to draw attention to the dire situation of the African rhinos and gain support for their cause! A percentage of all sales will be donated to www.savetherhino.org

As you can see vaguely on the blank canvas I have drawn in the outlines of two other rhino. Progress is slow with this amount of detail but check back in a few weeks for an update!