Once in awhile I take the opportunity afforded to wildlife artists to make an environmental statement with my work.  Ordinarily I paint only what I have experienced for myself in the wild.  But there are certain animals for which this is highly unlikely.  Even if I traveled to far away lands to see a Siberian Tiger in his remote wilderness, because there are so few left  it would be very, very unlikely that I would catch even a glimpse of one.  So I chose this beautiful, illusive creature to voice my sadness about what is happening to our wild world.

To best convey his story, I decided to place the tiger in the middle of nowhere.   He is not in the classic snowy backdrop that most wildlife painters choose for him.   Instead, he is floating in a sea of nothing.    It is nearing the last light of the day in Nowhere Land.   The tiger saunters by and pauses, taking a last long look at his viewers, the human animal which is the source of his demise.    Then he slowly continues on his journey… into extinction.

Most people would not look at this painting and immediately realize the sentiment behind it.   But the mood is quiet, the sun hot, and the day is nearly done.    I can’t think of a better mood to describe the sad story of this most amazing creature.

All wild creatures need our help.   It starts by caring.   This is what my art is all about.

(Above)    A Last Look Back (detail)  Acrylic on masonite