Once upon a time, books and movies portrayed tigers and lions as dangerous creatures—the stuff of nightmares. Now, they have become fragile creatures needing our protection to avoid extinction. How things have changed! This 2 1/2 minute video features my paintings of big cats. #tigers, #lions, #bigcats, #animalpaintings, #wildlife, #catpaintings.
ANIMALS ARE PEOPLE TOO!
Ever since the Paleolithic era 32,000 years ago, we artists have been obsessed with putting animal heads on human bodies.
In Egyptian hieroglyphics, we often see falcons, lions, and jackals standing as equals among the great pharaohs. In India, there is Ganesh, the elephant-headed god, and Hanuman, the monkey.
Jumping forward a few thousand years, we have Disney characters like Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Donald Duck who speak more or less fluent English and wear clothes like human beings. There are also Kermit the frog, and his erstwhile lover, Miss Piggy, to name but a few.
My animals are neither gods nor superstars in any sense of the word. They are ordinary members of society, only with more style, fashion, class and culture than the average person on the street. They are never portrayed as clownish or made to look like buffoons.
At present, I have over forty 16 x 20” portraits of cats and dogs in fashion outfits suitable for Vogue, GQ, or Vanity Fair. I have 10 Gauguin-ish paintings infused with cats and dogs who are sometimes outfitted with human bodies and sometimes just being their lovable selves.
