I've been busy painting.
Not much of an excuse for months without updating here, but its all I have. Hopefully the work I have produced will make up for it a bit.
To the right is my newest piece, "Meerkat with a Pearl Earring", inspired by the masterful portrait by Vermeer, "Girl with Pearl Earring".
I've been giving a lot of thought to wildlife painting. One of the things that interests me is capturing the personality of the individual animal, as well as something of the nature of its species. So I've been trending toward a portrait approach.
I volunteer as a docent at a zoo and botantical garden, and one of the nuances we encounter is the line between anthropomorphizing the animals, and recognizing the complexity of their behavior and their individuality. It can be a challenge to see a meerkat or giraffe or gazelle demonstrate body language that has a recognizable meaning in other humans, and not project a human motive onto that behavior. At the same time, there's a tendency to strip such behavior of any emotional meaning, and I think that is unfair.
Not only is there a growing body of evidence indicating that the internal life - the thought processes and emotions of animals are more complex that science is used to recognizing, it doesn't make sense, when every other trait we humans have has an analog in other species, less sophisticated perhaps, to pretend that emotion and higher functions like goal setting arose only in us.
"Meerkat with a Pearl Earring" is my look at meerkats in a less austere fashion. I've entered this piece in the Showdown at the Saatchi Gallery website. For a few more hours, you can vote for my work by following this link: http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/showdown/index.php?showpic=146871. The first round of voting ends at 9 AM UK time, Monday the 7th. If she makes into the run-off, you will then have another week to help her into the next round.
After you've give her a nice, friendly 2 digit score in keeping with the indomitable spirit of meerkats, check out the other artists in the competition. There is a wide variety of styles, techniques and skill levels.
Lastly, "Meerkat with Pearl Earring" is available for sale on my website; I'm offering her in limited edition (100) Giclee' prints, as well as the original.
Update: Monday, July 7, 2008: Meerkat with Pearl Earring made it to the first run off phase of the competition, going head to head with one other painting. You can support her by voting for her at: http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/showdown/index.php?showpic=149834
