In 2016 I moved to Seattle from New Haven, CT. After a year of settling in, I rented a studio at Inscape Arts where my creative juices began flowing again.

 

Painting portraits has always been my passion and focus. I’ve created countless portraits of people and animals. Now I’m turning my passion to rendering endangered wildlife portraits. Sadly, there are so many species on the brink of extinction, or already extinct due to habitat loss, poaching, trophy hunting, and climate change. In a recent article by Rachel Nuwer; “The World Wildlife Fund announced that the populations of thousands of vertebrate species around the world have declined by an average of 60 percent since 1970. Plants and animals are disappearing at rates comparable to past mass extinctions—only this time those losses are driven not by asteroids or supervolcanoes but by us, fellow creatures inhabiting this planet. Things are likely to worsen as climate change cranks up and wreaks havoc on delicately balanced ecosystems.”

 

I am using mixed media to render my endangered wildlife portraits. This technique is not commonly used by most fine artists, but my background as a graphic artist allowed me to develop my own unique style using markers, colored pencils, and acrylic/oil paint. This allows me to capture sharp details and subtle nuances in their faces, colors, patterns, and textures to make them come alive. My objective with this series is to draw the viewer in, evoke emotion, and create awareness and empathy, providing hope for a brighter future for these amazing creatures.  

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“Every Species has an important value to our 

lives and if they disappear they will change

your ecosystem irreversibly.” — Joel Sartone