NEXT UP:

This September I am planning a number of paintings... first and foremost I will be working in a Gray Wolf - something I have been wanting to do for a very long time. I'll be working with photographer, Amy Gerber who will be providing me with reference photographs ... so keep your eyes peeled for updates. Among other side projects I will also be working on a snowy landscape with numerous wolves in the scene, as well as a painting of my favourite african animal - the elephant :-)

First update should appear in the beginning of October! See you all then!

"Slumber" 20x40" Oil on canvas... FOR SALE

8/12/2014

An interruption of my sleeping bear, for a fundraiser in aid of the rhinos!

Please enter at https://www.crowdrise.com/rhinos ... all proceeds go to www.savetherhinos.org

As of July 10th, 558 rhinos have been slaughtered for their ivory in South Africa alone.

DETAILED RHINO POACHING DEATHS, BY PROVINCE

Rhino Deaths	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
Kruger National Park	146	252	425	606	351
MNP (SANParks)	0	6	3	3	0
Gauteng	15	3	1	8	3
Limpopo	52	80	59	114	80
Mpumalanga	17	31	28	92	24
North West	57	21	77	87	37
Eastern Cape	4	11	7	5	10
Free State	3	4	0	4	4
KwaZulu Natal	38	34	66	85	48
Western Cape	0	6	2	0	1
Northern Cape	1	0	0	0	0
TOTAL	333	448	668	1004	558

Sleeping bear.....

I am almost halfway through my painting of this sleeping bear, and I just realised I have not updated my blog at all yet... so here we are, 7 pics of the progress I have made over the last month.

I am excited to begin the background next week.... imagine moody fog drifting in from across a lake where pine trees are silhouetted against the pink and yellow hues of the sky, just beginning to envelope the bear as he fades into dreamland. Love it. Once again, I'd like to acknowledge photographer Tom Blandford, who kindly gave permission for me to use his photographs of bears he viewed in Lake Clark National Park in Alaska. It goes without say that his photographs inspire me!

Teasers for 2014/ 2015:

A few secret teasers for my fans out there, side projects for 2014/2015:

1) The Wild Duck Chase 
2) The Mountain Goat Experiment
3) The Art of Running Wild

"Living Ivory" - completed!

A few weeks left to the completion of 'Living Ivory'... I have tried to talk to people a number of times about saving our rhinos and what I am left with right now is the question "Why don't people care?"... please guys, support the rhino foundations! there are several out there that are using your money for GOOD things - check out http://www.savetherhino.org/

"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!

Snow Leopard - final update

Here at last is the completed Snow Leopard. I am so pleased with how this painting turned out.. I love the colors of the snow and sky and the how the leopards' fur is complemented by the colors of the rocky hillside..... and.... congratulations to the new owners!!!!

Snow Leopard 3/4/2014

The leopard is finished except for the whiskers which I will paint once his fur is dry. I am now about to embark on the background. The top third of the painting will be sky and trees, the middle will be snow and the bottom third will have snow and rocks. I am very pleased so far - the spots have been a wonderful challenge!

The cat itself is more vibrant in the actual painting, with fur that consists of a blend of burnt sienna, yellows, grey and white.

Snow Leopard

At long last I finally have a bit of time to update to my current painting - The Snow Leopard. I have been looking forward to painting a snow leopard for over a year, since I started painting the Big Cats and I was so blessed when a wonderful couple came into the gallery and commissioned my snow leopard. I have been working on it for a few weeks now, including a week to do all prep and drawing. I was interrupted for 7 days when I was away on a ski trip in Utah, but came back so refreshed that I have been able to pour my energy into painting this rare and beautiful creature! I have been working from a variety of different photographs taken by Anita Erdmann. So here are 2 progress shots so far, and more to come in the next week or two...

P.S: the photograph taken seems a little dull in comparison to the painting, not capturing the vibrancy of an underlying yellow in the fur.

Almost completed

I hope to be completing this painting in a week or so! I still have the rest of the bead-work to do aswell as the background, but it's coming along well....

This painting will be for sale at Pacific Crest Gallery in South Lake Tahoe!

12/20/2013

I am making good progress on my Maasai woman. I have finished the woman's face and am now about to start on the baby she is holding. Keep your eyes peeled, I will be finishing sometime in January :-)

Massai Woman

Here are the first couple of updates for my new painting! The painting will be of a mother and child, with vibrant oranges, reds and intricate and brightly coloured beaded jewelery!

The Elk is finished!

I have made such great time that I have managed to finish my elk painting before my trip to South Africa... with just 2 days to spare!! I hope you all enjoy it and especially the new owners; John & Theresa Barr!

I arrive back from South Africa on October 30th, so please check back in November!

Here is a quick snapshot of the final result ... the painting will be professionally photographed and once it has, I will try remember to post it (much more impressive) ...

9/8 update

The days are flying by as I prepare for my trip to South Africa and work on my painting. I am making excellent time, with very long hour days, but it's so motivating in this last stretch to complete the elk in time, that despite being tired, I am enjoying myself.

Today I will continue on the antlers, which are of course quite difficult, you could imagine them to be similar to some tree types where you have to capture the texture and 'grain'. Once these are finished I will power on through for the rest of the week while working on the foreground. The bulk of the elk's legs will be hidden behind tall grass which will also pull the painting together and build the perspective I want.

Here's an update from yesterday:

9/2 update

I am happy to say I have now begun the Elk himself, and will continue to paint him while the first layer of grass dries...  I still need to do the grass foreground of course which might be a little painstaking but very rewarding once completed  :-)

The background has been interesting to paint as I have combined a number of various photographs to create it. I went so far as to photograph a nearby meadow to help with the detail, so we'll see what the finished result will be in a couple of weeks.

15 September I am off to visit South Africa for 6 weeks, so I am doing my best to finish this painting in good time!

Here's the latest sneak-peak:

8/26/2013

Congratulations to the new owners of my current Elk painting; John and Theresa Barr! I'm thrilled this piece will be joining 'Salmon for Lunch' and 'Sojourner' in your home...

Here is the latest update, hopefully in a week or so I will be able to start on the Elk himself...

The Elk Painting

After some time of prep work for my new elk painting, I have finally begun to make some progress over the last week! Although I don't usually do the background first, this time I felt compelled to because of the magnificient antlers interrupting my sky space, which would have made the brushwork difficult in the reverse ;-) Thanks to my practise with clouds in 'Ingonyama' and mountains in 'Sierra Encounter' I have moved quite speedily so far...

Once the mountains are completed I will carry on working my way down the painting, covering hills with trees, closer trees and bushes and lastly the grass covered meadow. It seems to be a great build up towards the elk himself, which is making me quite excited to reach that point... of course the main subject is always my favourite - he will bring the painting to life!

While we wait for the climax, here are some background progress shots...