Next Up: Saving Elephants

Today I finally begin my next painting of a young forest elephant in Kenya Africa, with the aid of photographer Ken Conger! This is something I have wanted to do for a very long time,to raise awareness against Poaching and the Ivory Trade. In 2014 I completed my painting of 3 rhinos “Living Ivory” and this shall be it’s partner in the fight against illegal ivory trade and the cruel trafficking of baby elephants who are being ripped away from their mothers and family groups in order to be sold to private zoos and circuses abroad.

Please follow the links below to read more:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/02/150206-elephant-conservation-zimbabwe-culling-animals/

My painting is not based on any of the photos above… In March you will be able to see a magnificient creature coming to life on my canvas as you follow my blog posts. It will be another large painting, 30 x 36″ in size. Normally I would use my usual oil paints but as I now have to avoid toxic materials due to my little baby on the way, I have switched to Holbein Duo Aqua Water-miscible oils. These oils have been treated so that it’s possible to clean your brushes with water, thus eliminating Turpentine from my house 🙂

More on ‘Painting during Pregnancy’ soon! I found I had to spend an enormous amount of time researching how a pregnant artist can keep living her dream while dealing with fumes and toxins. So for any other worried pregnant artists out there – keep your eyes peeled!