Perspective

36" x 48" Oil Painting on Canvas

“Perspective” was a month-long endeavor inspired by an image I had in mind the moment I decided to take on my biggest canvas size to date. Because I could not find one elephant photograph or video footage in which the African elephant was poised in this exact position for the composition I had in mind — I found myself studying various magnificent elephant references. Anything from skin texture to ear position to ridge formations along the bottom of her trunk prompted me to reference almost 25 different images of different individuals. Then, I had in mind to place her in a subtle, abstracted background and to give the impression she was dusting herself with a powder of stardust in her place among the stars. Stars being such a far-off entity to us — literally seen at a distance, their light reaching us long after their light is emitted — they and the science telling us about the plight of endangered animals often affect us with a similar sentiment. There is such an arguably indirect impact between many of us and elephants and stars that their significance is often diminished to an afterthought.