Day 54 and Elephants

Today is day fifty four and I am painting an elephant and oddly enough the only time I was close to an elephant or yes even rode on an elephant was at the zoo. Now this is an African elephant but where we lived was north of Kenya and Nairobi where you would likely see elephants in the wild. But I do recall going with my mom and I think my grandparents to the zoo in Topeka, Kansas and of all places. I think that's where I rode the elephant. It was big and slow and I remember thinking how awful it was to see this animal tied up and not roaming in the African jungle. I guess it is hard when man and animal intersect and one population grows and the other seems to stay the same or dies off. I don't really enjoy the zoo just because I feel the animals are not in their natural habitat. It's about the same as opening a prison so we can go and gawk at the inmates.

As for the artistic process this one is a hard animal to paint. Elephants are full of folds and creases, crevices and they have mud on them and they have these tiny eyes in the recesses of their big blackness. Time prevents me from being able to render every line but that's definitely an animal with no lack of character and content to draw. They seem like gentle giants. I think that the best part for me is that the articles of paper that I am using have sometimes a lot packed into them. This is painted on a card that was hand written by someone that is no longer in my knowing. Someone that has some heartache attached to it .. but with paint those words disappear and all that is left is one legible word on the tusk .. you'll have to look closely. It's Love.. and that is what this whole project is about for me. Reclaiming the past and choosing to focus on the love parts. The goodness. So .. that makes me glad and filled with gratitude.

If you would like to own this gentle giant .. email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. Slightly larger than the others to be able to see the long snout. Done in acrylic. I hope you have a fantastic day. See you tomorrow. :)