The Surveyor
Sunday June 21, 2009

“The Surveyor”, my latest sculpture, was inspired by my interaction with Red-Billed Hornbills in Samburu Kenya. The piece is shown here in clay and measures 17”x12”x 15.” In my book African Diaries I describe my interaction with these denizens of the desert:

“Instead of eating lunch, I chose to draw and paint some of the local avian life. Lured by a small pile of bread crumbs, several Red-billed Hornbills swooped in for a free meal. They were soon followed by Bristle crowned starlings and the much larger go-away bird.”

I really enjoyed drawing and painting these birds. They have strong features both comical and graceful. My drawings were the springboard for “The Surveyor.”In the process of sculpting I draw on my experiences and memories as much as I do from the drawings. Sculpting “The Surveyor,” in a somewhat nostalgic way, brought me back to a summers night in the Kenyan Desert.

Comments [3]

* * *

Art for Conservation
Wednesday June 17, 2009

This past week I found myself in some unique company. At a long conference table in Frankfurt Germany I sat amongst politicians (African & European), primatologists, conservationists, eco-tourism entrepreneurs and zoo directors. And then there was me, an artist. We all had convened for the same purpose; to put into writing how to protect gorillas through eco-tourism. Our work would be part of a larger declaration on gorilla conservation. In the meeting we all debated, rather intensely at times on the proper grammar and wording for our portion of the declaration. There were several other groups in separate conference rooms debating the semantics of other gorilla related issues: Logging/mining, armed conflict, diseases, and hunting. Once completed every section was combined to form the Frankfurt Declaration on Gorilla Conservation.
Click here to see the declaration

Me comparing notes with Radar Nishuli of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

The symposium was a collaboration of several groups and associations: the UNEP (United Nations environment programme) along with CMS (convention on Migratory Species), GRASP (Great Apes Survival Partnership), WAZA (World Association of Zoos and Aquariums). After several series of lectures the symposium climaxed with an impressive gala. There were many prominent politicians, business men and yes a Princess.

Princess Odette Maniema Krempin is an African fashion Designer and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. She was born to the royal family of Maniema Nilemba Boniface Mulopwe in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She gave the most moving speech of the evening describing her childhood experiences with gorillas both joyous and heartbreaking. During the Gala I along with Andy Rousse a premier wildlife photographer and Daniel Taylor (who wasn’t present) donated several works of art to benefit gorilla conservation.

We often ask ourselves how can I help, how can I make a difference. I learned first hand in Germany that we all can make a difference. Whether we’re scientists out in the field, business men behind a desk or even a wildlife artist there is a lot we can do. This collaboration with my art and conservation is just the beginning. Gorillas need our help, there are several more events planed for the year of the Gorilla including an event in Los Angeles this fall. If anyone is interesting in supporting Gorillas by purchasing artwork or attending future events contact Veronika Lenraz: vlenarz@cms.int

Here are some links to media coverage of the event:
ZDFmedia
rtl-hessen
rtl-hessen

Comments

* * *

Wildscape Magazine Article
Saturday June 13, 2009

While I was away in Germany for the Year of the Gorilla; Wildscape, a UK based magazine ran an article on my work. The magazine specializes in wildlife art and conservation. The article on my work is entitled “African Diaries.”

The magazine editor forewarned me that there was a slight error in the article. It softened the blow, but only a little. The first page of the article contains images of artwork that are not mine but are by another artist, Pollyanna Pickering.

one of two images that were incorrectly credited to me. They were rendered by Pollyanna Pickering

As an artist I spend a lot of time and effort building awareness about my work, my style, my brand. Even though the error in the article confuses my “brand” with another artist, I am happy to receive positive exposure in a wildlife art magazine.

To order a copy of the magazine visit Wildscape

Comments [2]

* * *

Year of the Gorilla artwork
Friday June 5, 2009

Next week in Frankfurt Germany I will be donating this Sculpture entitled Tino along with precasts of Professor and Motherhood.

Motherhood

Professor
In addition to the sculptures I will be donating several of my plien air paintings and sketches of gorillas at the Gala. All species of gorilla are critically endangered. I am excited and honored to play a part in the fund raising for gorillas and hope this is one of many partnerships I will make to help conserve and protect wildlife and wild places.

Comments [3]

* * *

The Year of The Gorilla
Wednesday May 27, 2009

The UNEP Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), the UNEP/UNESCO GreatApes Survival Partnership (GRASP) and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) have joined hands to declare 2009 the Year of the Gorilla (YoG).

I am thrilled to announce that I will be supporting gorillas in this great cause. In a few weeks time I will be flying to Germany to attend a conference on gorilla conservation. At the end of the conference there will be a fundraiser in which I will donate sculptures, paintings and copies of African Diaries to help benefit Gorillas.

Tino is one of the sculptures I will be donating
Gorillas are awe inspiring animals who have often been my subject matter of choice through out the years. All species of gorilla are critically endangered and are in need of protection.It is inspiring to see so many different organizations band together, focusing the energies and resources on one animal in particular the gorillas.

Comments [3]

* * *

Bruno the Escape Artist
Tuesday May 19, 2009

Bruno the escape artist sounds like a great stage name for a Hungarian magician in a traveling circus. Bruno has thick flowing orange-red hair giving him a stage presence that would make even Houdini envious. Bruno, however, is not an actor or an escape artist in a traveling circus. He is an Orangutan but he is an escape artist. Just over a year ago Bruno escaped from his enclosure causing the LA Zoo to evacuate and temporarily close. Some of the Newspaper Head lines read: Orangutan tries to flee zoo, Orangutan escapes pen at US zoo! In the LA Times article it read: After punching a hole through the mesh that surrounds his habitat, Bruno made his move…

A few days ago while sketching at the Zoo I asked a zoo official about the incident. The zoo official was very forthcoming and told me about the entire event.

The orangutan exhibit at the LA zoo is relatively new with several different enclosures, running water green grass and plenty of things to climb on. Instead of bars the exhibit is enclosed with a metallic mesh-like net. The nets of each enclosure are connected so that the animals can move freely between enclosures.

Bruno had a favorite spot in one of the enclosures. He would constantly go there and just hang around. Or so everyone thought- he’s not an escape artist for nothing. Very carefully and deliberately Bruno used his massive fingers to slowly unwind the metal cables but never enough for zookeepers to notice. After several months of this the cables became weaker. Freedom was so close Bruno could almost taste it. He couldn’t take it anymore he wanted to be free. Using his incredible strength Bruno ripped the hole wide enough for his entire 300-pound girth. He made his dash for freedom. The alarms were sounded around the zoo; panicked people fled the zoo, in fear of the ferocious red-haired ape on the loose. Bruno didn’t care if people were scared, he was free, and he’d been planning this for a long time. He knew exactly where to go. He went right up and opened the refrigerator door. His bid for freedom didn’t take him very far he was in the kitchen near the holding area behind his exhibit. So much for wanting freedom, Bruno just wanted to see what was in the fridge.

Bruno as an orang has a mixed pedigree and childhood. Bruno is neither a Sumatran nor a Bornean orangutan, he’s both. A hybrid and forbidden by the zoo to have progeny. As a youngster he was raised by humans and is very calm around humans. While the whole zoo was in turmoil searching for an escaped ape. A zookeeper simply found Bruno outside his exhibit in the kitchen area and took him by the hand and escorted him back to his enclosure. If you go to the LA zoo you can find the spot where Bruno made his great escape. It’s near the entrance of the exhibit and is easy to spot because of the strong metal re-enforcements on the mesh.

a quick sketch of the repaired mesh

It is remarkable that Bruno had the patience and the strength to escape. The zoo official explained to me the strength of great apes: “ It’s said that a chimp is 4-6 times stronger than man and a gorilla is 7-8 but Orangs are 8-10 times stronger.” This seemed to fly into the common knowledge that gorillas are the strongest apes but no. Orangs even the big males are arboreal, they branchiate throughout the forest and can rotate their arms 360 degrees. Now when I draw Bruno, a huge hairy red version of Chewbacca, I have a new found respect for his strength, intelligence and motivation; “what’s in the fridge?”

Comments [2]

* * *

Bird Watching
Tuesday May 12, 2009

When forests full of towering trees, lush meadows and rich earth are replaced with power lines, buildings and cement, most animals disappear but not the birds. Ever adaptable birds of all kinds have learned how to live in our concrete world. Bird watching is a way for everyone everywhere to enjoy wildlife when wilderness is seemingly gone. Even if you live in a big city with cliff like buildings, you might catch a glimpse of a raptor such as the peregrine falcon or a red tailed hawk.

Osprey photo by Jason Christopher
At DreamWorks, far from any wilderness, I work as a story artist where we have many avian visitors from the humble sparrow to egrets, herons, mallards and the occasional osprey. My colleague Jason Christopher took this photo of an osprey that was admiring the koi pond at DreamWorks.

Bird watching can make the most urban areas feel wild again. A few months ago while I was wrestling my children into their car seats I spotted a cooper’s hawk across the parking lot. I quickly pulled out my pocket sketchbook and sketched the urban accipiter.

Killdeer & Nest
Birds are able to live in the most unlikely places from houses to office buildings and power lines. I’ll never forget when I first saw a killdeer protecting her nest. I was about thirteen years old and mowing lawns in the late spring. As I tried to mow a particular spot a killdeer ran in front of the mower. The killdeer would peep peep and fly right up to me and feign a broken wing trying to lure me away from her nest. When I found the nest I left it undisturbed. After my encounter with the killdeer I began in earnest watching birds.

Comments [1]

* * *

Kids
Tuesday May 5, 2009

Often times when I go to watch and draw wildlife I am compelled to watch my wandering children instead. So inevitably I draw my wild children as much as I draw wildlife. I am the lucky father of three children Samea, Benjamin and Alice Mei.

Samea

Benjamin

Alice Mei
All of them love working with me in the studio and in the field. Samea especially has a keen interest in drawing. All children seem to be artists when they are young.

Kids are as difficult to draw as wild animals and just as unpredictable. I find drawing them to be a great exercise in observation and quick gesture studies. As always it’s better in my opinion to draw from life than from photos; better to create than to copy.

Comments [2]

* * *

Mandrills
Thursday April 30, 2009

I recently discovered that the LA zoo has mandrills. With their palm walking and long muzzle its clear that mandrills are closely related to baboons. Despite the family resemblance mandrills were recently classified as Mandrillus sphinx. While they are similar to baboons they are much larger and lack the long tail of the savannah baboons. Mandrills, in spite of the dense jungle habitat where they live, have been seen in enormous gatherings. In Lopé National Park, Gabon, the largest aggregation of non human primates was observed when approximately 1300 mandrills were seen together.

The great explorer and conservationist Michael Fay described Gabon, the primary home of the Mandrill:
“Blue seas, white sand, elephants, whales, sea turtles, monkeys, bush pigs, unbelievable scenery,” says Fay. “Gabon has it all. It has everything that everyone ever dreams about in paradise, as far as I’m concerned.”
Gabon seems like an incredilbe place that is now opening up for tourism. Visit safari adventures for more information.

The bright blue and red muzzles and piercing eyes of mandrills makes them an unforgettable primate and great subject matter for any artist. These paintings were done on a hot day at the LA zoo.

Comments [2]

* * *

Samburu Stretch
Sunday April 26, 2009

Samburu Stretch is my latest sculpture and measures 21 inches long, 6 inches wide and 8 inches tall. This piece was directly inspired by the last lions I saw in Africa. On my last day in the Samburu reserve I saw a lioness with cubs. In the long afternoon shadows the lioness stood up and stretched before going on a stroll with her cubs.

Upon returning I reviewed footage and reference of the moment and did this memory sketch. I’ve learned a lot about drawing from David Pimentel who describes gesture as opposing rubber bands, which stretch and pull each other.

The trick is to find the gesture and tension and push it to make a unique pose all its own. As artists we are at our best when we create, not copy. In Samburu Stretch I really tried to feel the kinesthetic stretching and pulling of muscles all the way down to the lioness’ retractable claws.

Comments [2]

* * *

More Articles