"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!