Sorry it’s been a while since my last post but things have been pretty hectic in my house. Since my amazing trip to The Maldives, my little baby girl has popped (sorry, exploded!) into the world 2 weeks earlier than planned and life adjusting to motherhood has been an all-consuming learning curve to say the least. However, since my precious bundle of joy has been kind to me and has been sleeping through the night for 12hours solid since she was 9 weeks old (yes I know some mums reading this might be cursing me, I am just very lucky, I know), i’ve had some time to take up a new hobby. Painting!
I thoroughly enjoyed my watercolour painting last year so thought i’d give it another go, a real good go. So I decided to try and paint a Sea Turtle after being inspired by a trip to the Oceanarium with my little lady (I think I enjoyed it more than she did, she took a while to really show her emotions!). It took a good 12hours to sketch and paint (I am an amateur at this by the way so don’t judge me too harshly please) but I really enjoyed doing it. What do you think?
Since my Sea Turtle was pretty well received by friends on Facebook (yes I know Facebook isn’t the best guide for anything but it certainly helps to boost ones ego!), it gave me a kick up the backside to try and make a go of this painting malarky. I decided (well a very close friend of mine suggested) to paint an Endangered Species range of animals and then donate a percentage of the sale of the originals to charities relating to that particular animal. Fantastic idea! Helps me have direction and helps the animals too. Perfect! So I got straight onto it…
Endangered Species: The Amur Leopard.
The Amur Leopard is one of the eight subspecies of leopard. It is only found in the Russian Far East and North East China and there are fewer than 40 left in the wild. This makes it one of the world’s most endangered big cats and for this reason it is listed as Critically Endangered. 10% of the sale of the original painting will go to Alta Conservation. The Amur Leopard and Tiger Alliance (ALTA) is a coalition of 15 international and Russian NGOs who are all working to conserve the Amur leopard and tiger. Some raise funds and awareness and some implement projects in the Russian Far East and China.
The next Endangered Species on my list to paint was…
Endangered Species: The Javan Rhino.
Javan Rhinos are the most threatened of the five rhino species, with 60 individuals surviving in Indonesia. This has grown since 2011 when there were only 35 in the world. These animals are poached for their horns for use in medicines so i’ve tried to convey the animals vulnerability by the placement of my colour. 10% of the sale of the original will go to Save the Rhino. Save the Rhino collaborate with partners to support endangered rhinos in Africa and Asia.
Now, if you’re abit of a birdie lover and always fancied yourself a parrot to talk to you at home, stay tuned for my next piece. He may not be able to talk to you BUT he will brighten up your walls, kinder to the animal and be nice to look at! Coming soon… Endangered Species: The Blue-throated Macaw.
So, then I thought, maybe I should try and make a proper go at this and try to earn some extra money in the process (since I am now a fully-fledged freelancer, eek!). A friend of mine suggested I try and sell them at the Pine Walk exhibition (the outdoor exhibition in the Bournemouth Lower Gardens by the Aviary) and what better weekend to try this than the Bournemouth Air Show weekend on the 20th and 21st August. So, it’s on! I will be there on the Saturday and Sunday 9-5pm with my originals and also prints to sell to the general public (I am petrified by the way, in a good way!). Prints are already made up, bring it on…
I am also taking commissions if any of you lovely lot fancy a bright and colourful animal on your wall (or even a pencil animal drawing, I can do both), just email me at staceygrovecreative@gmail.com if you want to discuss. Prints can be ordered too. Prices are £20 for an A4 mounted print and £30 for an A3 mounted print.
Wish me luck!
Modern watercolour animal artist | SGCreative 