Endangered species Art has always been a way for mankind to connect with nature, an attempt to understand its mystery and beauty, to borrow its power. Artist’s earliest primal symbols show a desire to acknowledge the critical role animals played in human survival. I paint endangered species to call attention to this ancient connection. With the loss of each species, we become less human. Some of the endangered species are oil on canvas, but most of them are created using traditional gilding techniques originating in ancient Egypt.
A wooden panel is covered with several layers of gesso (a mixture of chalk and animal hyde glue) and then painted with bole (a naturally occurring clay mixed with glue) before sheets of gold leaf are applied and burnished with an agate stone to produce a reflective surface. To create the relief or “pastiglia”, warm gesso is carefully ladled on top of the gessoed wood before the bole layer. Steel punches may be used to imprint the gilded surface or the gold may be covered with tempera paint and scratched through to expose the brilliance below, a technique called “sgraffito”.
American Buffalo, 23x18x4 inch, gold leaf and tempera on gessoed wood, 1996
Constellation Tableau, 5x24x3 ½ inch, gold leaf and tempera on gessoed wood, 2014
Endangered Species Crayfish, 25x9 inch, gold leaf and oil on gessoed panel in antique frame, 2004
Endangered Species Okapi, 44x28 inch, oil on linen, 2010
Endangered Species Crocodile, 17x11 inch, gold leaf and oil on gessoed panel, 2006
Black and White Issues, framed, 16x16 inches, graphite on gessoed wood, 2011
Endangered Species Fijian Banded Iguana, 17x15 inch, gold leaf and multi colored bole on panel, 2003
Endangered Species Frog, 15x13 inch, gold leaf and tempera on gessoed panel, 1998
Endangered Species Grizzly Bear, 17x15 inch, gold leaf and tempera on gessoed panel, 1998
Zebrafly Opus III, 32x32 inch, oil with gold and copper leaf on linen, 2018
Endangered Species Marvelous Spatuletail, 20x8 inch, in mahogany frame gold leaf on gessoed wood, 2000
Endangered Species Red Crown Cranes, 24x30 inch, gold leaf and tempera on gessoed panel, 2004. Collection of the Corcoran Gallery.
Endangered Species Sea Turtle, 15x13 inch, gold leaf and tempera on gessoed panel, 1998
Pelican Panda Penguin Panther, 10x10 inch, gold leaf and graphite on gessoed panel, 2010
Endangered Species Spotted Owl, 15x13 inch, gold leaf and tempera on gessoed panel, 1998
Endangered Species Sea Horse, 15x13 inch, gold leaf and tempera on gessoed panel, 2000. Collection of the Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William and Mary.
Endangered Species Wallace Bee, 13x15 inch, gold leaf and tempera on gessoed wood, 2003
Fishbone Elephant in frame, 12x14 inch, gesso on panel, 2018
Fishbone Giraffe, 8x10x2 inch, gold leaf on gessoed wood, 2018
Fishbone Zebra, 8x10x2 inch, gold leaf and watercolor on gessoed wood
On the Edge, 32x32 inch, oil on linen, 2014
Owl Oryx Ocelot, 42x8 inch, gold leaf and graphite on gilded oak and gessoed wood, 2003
Running Zebra, 32x36 inch, oil on linen, 2017
Zebra on Fire, 36x48 inch, gold and copper leaf on linen, 2017
Zebrafly Opus I, 32x32 inch, oil with copper leaf on linen, 2016
Zebrafly Opus II, 16x16 inch, oil with gold leaf on linen, 2018