Fast & Furious

I ask myself, what expression do I love?  As an artist I sometimes feel I need to crawl into the mood of the animal I’m painting.  In all my years of experience creating art, I’ve come to the realisation that people sometimes like to transfer their stress and sadness into something beautiful.    With the current tragic events in Ukraine - a shocking turning back of the clock in Europe - we are witnessing attacking, killing and displacement of everyday people, people simply trying to live their lives as best they can. 

The Ukraine war started around the time of me researching how I could capture the wonderful fur patterns on their coats. Petrykivka is a town in eastern Ukraine, known for its decorative style of painting with flowers and leaves, and I decided to paint the unique mottling of the dogs’ coats in dark rose swirls.

Did you know - African wild dogs live in packs that are usually dominated by a monogamous breeding pair. They are very sociable, share food, assist the weak or ill.  Sadly (you know what’s coming) the African wild dog population is in irreversible decline, primarily hunted by local farmers who fear for their livestock.  They were once found throughout the continent of Africa but are now confined to roam the open plains of sub-Saharan Africa.

 Even when hunting, wild dogs seem to be having so much fun!

You would too, if this were yours!