Category: Blog

Endangered Parrots

Since I was young I was fascinated by the size and color of Parrots. I always respected these beautiful creatures to live in the wild so while I did have pets at home, I knew that a parrot kept in a small cage in a flat was simply not an option. I came across some who did keep these beautiful animals in apartments or even in larger cafes and shops, most of the time stuck to one place by a chain – and those parotts I came across here all showed signs of not being kept in their natural habitat, at times even worse – often these birds are mutated by cutting of their flight feather. Every time I see this it breaks my heart.

Luckily, I know there are good places in for example Zoos with large outdoor cages, the same goes for those amazing individuals that dedicate their lives to helping those species endangered by breeding them in especially developed spaces. I personally never had the space to do so, but am wholeheartedly supporting these efforts. Whether it’s through donations to the World Parrot Trust or by subscribing to magazines or buying merchandise that supports these efforts. And by the way part of my own income from Animals of the World Art regardless of prime motive – if it is an animal, a bird or a dinosaur -is being passed on to Charity. I support the forementioned World Parrot Trust, as well as the WWF, my local zoos in town, some local bird associations and a Sloth Conservation project.

Whenever I see parrots in the wild my heart opens. Now we see parrots in cities like Barcelona, or even further North in Germany. I am glad some can adjust, but it does not mean the future is bright. Most of these beautiful species, regardless if it is in the Amazonas or in Australia, parrots are one of the most endangered species on our planet.

I once had the pleasure to visit Puerto Rico and during a beautiful visit to the local El Yunque rainforest, the story of the Puerto Rican Amazon which is critically endangered never left me.

I hope that some of my art reminds people of these beautiful creatures and brings to awareness that soon we, let alone our children, cannot enjoy Parrots in the wild anymore unless we seriously start changing.

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A Feathered Dinosaur

I don’t know about you, but I remember my visits to the Natural History Museum when I was young vividly: I often was more fascinated by the wall murals or wall backgrounds depicting the natural habitat of the main displays in the exhibition than the actual displays themselves. I especially loved those habitat representations that are long gone, those that we do not have the opportunity to see in real life or at least could reference a photo of. In regards to pre-historic times, like the mesozoic including the Tertiary, the Jurassic and the Cretacios periods, we do not even have those beautiful artist drawings that have become so well known from the mid-ages onwards and especially since 18th and 19th centuries. So how were artists able to bring these wall murals and those landscapes they drew to life?

When I first was fascinated by it, there was no book, no mention, no (real) famous artist attached to the topic. I believe it wasn’t even an art form then, let alone have a name attached to it.

But now it does. And the last 5 years or so more and more books, discussions, topics and with it artist names have sprung up. Probably made even more popular through movies like Jurassic Parks and their sequels, people have started to not only take a renewed interest into Dinosaurs and pre-historic mammals but also in the representation, the art of them. Now we have books dedicated to what is now known as “Paleo Art” (paleoart), books and articles dedicated to its art form, its artist, its history and development and even first books on how scientifially founded dinosaur art can be drawn.

I am no scientist, I am no paleontologist, I do not know much about paleobotany either. But I am still fascinated by the art form of creating something that looks so real as if we could visit it by going to the next valley. There are more modern art forms dedicated to both pre-historic real worlds based on scientific knowledge and research advancement as well as those dedicated to real looking yet fantasy worlds. These are art forms now called “concept art” often sub-divided into something like “creature art” or “environmental art”. The result of these we all see nearly daily: They are the backdrops of major movies like Lord of the Rings and they can be found in pretty much any elaborate game release these days. We also often see these beautiful creations in anime movies and TV series.

I love these backdrops and concept art. I belong to those buying the art book of “World of Warcraft” or Mononoke – while, I have to admit, I do not actually play the games or watch each anime episode.

My Instagram account and my digital art for Paleo Dinosaurs Art is inspired by these two worlds. And the result is kind of a merging of both. I am – as mentioned above – not a scientist, however while I try to keep my Dinosaurs as real as possible (to the current standard of scientific knowledge), I will – at times – take creative liberties with their color, company and surroundings.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJUsYkJAd9S/

The Snow Leopard

At elementary school when I was about 8, 9 or maybe 10 years old, a small group of us were allowed to create art on one of the walls in the school’s building. Kind of a wall mural. I was super excited and had the privilege of creating the hero in the image: a beautiful Snow Leopard.

My passion for cats of all sizes started early, I was given a baby cat, a beautiful Russian Blue kitten on my 6th birthday. The beautiful and highly intelligent being actually lived with us for 21 (!) years. I will always love and treasure him. I had cats ever since.

When I decided to start a new Instagram account celebrating digital art featuring “Animals of the World”, I somehow naturally selected the Snow Leopard as my first hero. All art created for my various Instagram accounts celebrating animals, birds and dinosaurs is digital art, meaning the heros of each image are a digital art re-creation or representation – not a photo. As an artist I will take liberty at placing my heroes at times in places, landscapes and company that might not represent their natural habitat. I hope you forgive my creative indiscretion for this.

I’d love to hear from you, please do leave comments on my Instagram or Twitter accounts. Enjoy.

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