New Bronze: Samburu Stretch
Saturday February 6, 2010

Samburu Stretch just left the foundry and is available in a limited edition of 14.

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Black Crowned dinner guest
Sunday January 17, 2010

About a month ago my family and I found ourselves eating at a restaurant near the sea shore. It was a beautiful evening. The air was cool and clean. From our table we could hear the gently lapping of the waves on the beach. I wasn’t really interested in the food, though my kids were interested in dessert. I knew that the restaurant had several uninvited guests every evening. As our food arrived and we began eating the dinner crashers flew in; Black Crowned Night Herons.

I had come prepared with my oversized watercolor paper and sumi brushes. I love drawing birds they make good models. The herons provided me with a variety of poses which I was able to capture with my brush. Where ever you live in the world chances are you’ve seen a Black Crowned Night Heron. They are the most widespread heron in the world with a range that spans five continents. Aptly named Night-Herons these birds are most active at dusk and at night were they hunt or scavenge food.

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Eye-to-Eye with a Secretary Bird
Monday January 11, 2010

While I was in Kenya we came across a bird with long legs like a stork or a crane. It bobbed its head back and forth as it stalked through the tall grass. Its beak was not stork-like it was the sharp hooked beak of a raptor; a beak made to tear flesh.

It was unlike any bird I had ever seen in the wild. With long crown feathers the secretary bird stands alone in its class Sagittariidae. This unique bird of prey can reach 4.5 feet in height. It walks like a stork but with it’s curved beak and taloned feet it hunts small animals on the savannah. When I was in Africa it was difficult to get a sense of the birds actual size because I was almost always watching from the safety of a vehicle. I again had a chance to meet this tall predatory bird at the world famous San Diego Zoo. The exhibit allows you to be on the same ground plane as the bird giving you an accurate sense of the animal’s actual size, which is ideal for painting or sculpting.

This day I found myself only with my sumi ink pens and India ink bottles, so I went to work studying the secretary bird with quick gesture paintings. I worked quickly watching it strut around its enclosure on its long legs and stumpy talons. Kneeling down while I painted gave me an eye-to-eye view of this stunning and strange bird.

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Montana in Southern California
Wednesday January 6, 2010

Montana is a Bengal tiger who lives at the wildlife way station. For several years now the Wildlife Way station has not been open to the public. On a number of occasions I have had the rare opportunity to go sketch and sculpt wildlife there. It is a unique place where forgotten and abused animals are remembered and saved. Most of the big cats in Martine Collette’s collection were used in the movie business, the exotic pet trade and some are even byproducts from zoos.

One of these big cats is named Montana. He is a beautiful white tiger. Many confuse white tigers with Siberian or Amur tigers because of their snowy white fur. Even though Siberian tigers live in the snow they are never white. So what is a white tiger then a Bengal, Sumatran? The truth is none of those; he is a mutant, the result of two recessive genes forced together by an inbred family tree. The patriarch of this manipulated family tree was a Bengal tiger named Mohan. Around 1951 he was captured as a cub and lived the life of a coddled palace pet in Rewa India. Since he was and is the only wild caught white tiger, the inbreeding began to try force out the mutation more consistently. Like dog breeders have done to artificially navigate the appearance of a species, the white recessive gene was strategically bred, or inbred to produce more white tigers.

sculpting at the way station. The tiger in the background of the photo is not Montana, by then Montana had moved out of view

Drawing and sculpting Montana is a real treat he is a stunning animal. His is larger than most Bengal tigers and sits regally in his enclosure. After completing a few paintings I began sculpting a rough bust of Montana. I finished this piece later in my studio. His beautiful white coat with chocolate stripes is caused by a mutant gene called a recessive allele. Essentially it is a partial albinism giving him the whiteness and a pink nose and sparing the eyes and stripes. The eyes of Montana and all white tigers are a stunning blue.

The majority of white tigers in America were bred at one zoo in Cincinnati. One tigress named Sumita delivered twenty-five live born white cubs at the zoo or tiger-mill. Tiger cubs are so cute and draw in so much money that there have been irresponsible “puppy mill” zoos that have cranked out cubs irresponsibly just to keep admissions up. What could the problem be, tigers are endangered right?

skeletal & facial deformities are just some of the common maladies associated with White Tigers

Yes all tigers are endangered, and they need all the help they can get. But to scientists white tigers are mutants. They have been bred as if they were a boutique pet and money maker not for conservation. Ed Maruska who was the director of the Cincinnati Zoo for 39 years openly admitted his motivations for breeding white tigers:

“It’s marketing. It’s popularity. It’s a major source of income for continuing other programs here at the zoo.” Ed Maruska former zoo director

Surplus cubs were sold regularly by zoos for up to $60,000 each. With a shallow captive gene pool, irresponsible breeders have produced inbred animals full of chronic maladies. Sumita, the aforementioned, mother of twenty-five was bred with Bhim another white tiger who also was her brother. Once the cubs out grow their cuteness they have a hard time finding a home. Most aren’t “show worthy” for zoos and so they are sold as pets or discarded. Martine Collette has done her upmost to rescue as many as she can.

If any zoo has a white tiger (beautiful as they may be) you can be sure that they are more concerned with looks and money than they are about biodiversity. Most white tigers because of their inbreeded history are not ideal genetic parents, but they make a lot of money. Their chronic maladies brought on by a shallow gene pool include: strabismus (cross-eyed), skeletal & reproductive deformities, stillbirths. These beautiful mutants with all of their maladies are expensive to treat prohibitive to most.

Montana’s conditions are not only genetic, his previous owners had him de-clawed making it difficult for him to walk about his enclosure. When a cat or especially a big cat is declawed it is really an amputation of the top digit joints. In this condition Montana struggles to walk, let alone climb or jump. He is very good natured and is used as an ambassador in public photo and fundraising events for the Way station.

Though most reputable zoos no longer breed white tigers there are many who continue to do so. Many do it under the guise of conservation. Dr. Ron Tilson manager of the Tiger Species Survival Plan said the following about white tigers and zoos that breed them:
“White tigers are an aberration artificially bred and proliferated by some zoos, private breeders and a few circuses who do so for economic rather than conservation reasons.”
It is nice to know that Martine and all of her staff work around the clock to save animals that are the unfortunate byproduct of reckless zoos, collectors, trainers and animal traffickers. A special thanks to Martine Collette for allowing me to visit the way station and also to Alyson who educated and guided me through the way station.

Sources:

White Tigers of Cincinnati- by David Quamen
bigcatrescue.org
http://www.exoticcatz.com/sptigerwhite.html

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The end of the Year of the Gorilla?
Friday January 1, 2010

In 1959 George Schaller ventured into the habitat of mountain gorillas in the volcanic Virunga Mountains. There he and his wife Kay lived in relative isolation studying the mountain gorillas for an entire year. Dr. Schaller penned his experience in a lovely book entitled “The Year of the Gorilla.”

In 2009 UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programe) adopted the same name to focus media attention and conservation for all species of wild gorilla. The finite nature of the campaign has been a double-edged sword. On one side UNEP has focused singular attention on threats facing wild gorilla. As an artist and conservationist the Year of the Gorilla was far too short. It took me a few months to find out about the campaign and a couple to get involved and then a few more to navigate bureaucracy and at about at month nine and ten did I figure out the best ways to move artwork and reach people. It has been an enormous learning experience, one that I hope to repeat in the future. Working with Ian Redmond and traveling to Germany were certainly highlights, but I hope the cause behind the Year of the Gorilla will not be limited to the year 2009 alone. I hope UNEP’s efforts will have jump-started a continued campaign of gorilla protection and conservation in the wild.

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Art Show Recap
Sunday December 20, 2009

Last night at the J Willott Gallery we had an exciting and vibrant art show and lecture. Gallery owners Josh Paquette and Josh Otten did a great job organizing the event which had a full bar and refreshments. We had a great crowd of people attending the event. Artists Devin Crane and Alan Bodner were also in attendance to promote their artwork. I gave a brief lecture on the animation process and more importantly on how animation informs my fine art. During the show I sculpted live which is always a good way to get a sculpture done and a fun way to educate people on the sculpture process.

The piece I was working on is a male lion inspired by a lion I encountered on the Mara in Kenya. It was a great opportunity to meet collectors, make friends and educate people on my artistic process. Thanks to everyone who showed up.

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Art Show & Lecture Dec 19th
Tuesday December 15, 2009

A mixture of Animation & Fine Art

This Saturday Dec 19th from 4 to 7 pm at the J. Willott Gallery I will give a lecture about the creative process behind major motion pictures like Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon and will also show how my experience in animation informs my fine art in unique ways.

Sorry, but you do not have the minimum version (9) of flash player required to play this flash movie. You can install or upgrade flash here.

My work will be on display as always along with the work of several colleagues from the animation industry. The event promises to be unique, educational and enriching. Come see us between 4-7 pm, the lecture will begin around 5pm.

J Willott Gallery
73190 El Paseo Ste 1
Palm Desert, CA 92260
760.568.3180 phone

Artists include: David Derrick Jr, Devin Crane, Ennio Torressan, Dave Pimentel, Alan Bodner

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AFC Conservation Artist Award
Wednesday December 2, 2009

For the month of December I have been awarded the AFC Conservation Artist Award for my ongoing efforts in supporting conservation primarily of gorillas and chimpanzees.

What is the Conservation Artist award? The AFC Conservation Artist Award is awarded monthly to honour a member for outstanding artistic talent and extraordinary contribution to the conservation cause. At the end of each year, a prior recipient of the monthly honour is selected for the annual Simon Combes Conservation Award.

The award is a great honor, I’m proud that I have been able to use my artistic skills to help preserve wildlife and wild places.

click here to see the article of me on the AFC website

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Swagger in Patina
Tuesday December 1, 2009

The first edition of Swagger, which was purchased for conservation during the Year of the Gorilla, is now in patina. Patina is the last step in the lost wax method when we color the metal using chemicals, pot ash and fire. The piece went to the foundry several weeks ago and will be completed as soon as its black granite base arrives. As with all my sculptures the editions are small, this piece will be 1 of 14.

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Logos for Gorillas
Monday November 23, 2009

Participating in the United Nations Year of the Gorilla campaign has given me the opportunity to meet scientists and conservationists who work to save and study Gorillas. One of these was Thomas Breuer. In the rainforests of central Africa Thomas and his colleagues witnessed the first documented tool used in wild gorillas. Thomas photographed wild gorillas using sticks and stumps to navigate swampy forest clearings. National Geographic reported on his discoveries online in text and film

Thomas does his research in rare open clearing in the dense rainforest called a Bai. While I was in Germany at the Frankfurt symposium I heard of Thomas’ need to create a logo for his research site and future ectourist destination. The name of the Bai is the Mbeli Bai. The logo reflects Thomas’ aesthetic wishes displaying the three “big game” species of the Bai; forest elephant, gorilla & stitatunga. I did several different logos and went back and forth until Thomas was satisfied with the overall design.

Visiting Mbeli Bai would truly be a unique experience. The majority of tourists who visit gorillas in the wild visit habituated gorillas. Naturally gorillas are very shy. The only way to get close to one is to slowly habituate them to human presence; to teach them not to run from people. Habituated gorillas, though they are still wild, behave in a subdued and blasé way according to the many scientists I talked to at the gorilla symposium. Another danger is the transmission of diseases. Being so close to gorillas communicable diseases as mild as a cold or flu could devastate a population. Gorilla permits are usually only for one hour and cost hundreds of dollars. Mbeli Bai would offer a different experience that would be less invasive to gorillas. Perched on elevated platforms built around the forest clearing observers could watch gorillas, forest elephants and sitatunga without disturbing them. Truth be told I’d like to visit both the habituated mountain gorillas and their wilder tool using counterparts of Mbeli Bai.

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