Conservation & Art

How they go hand in hand

Conservation & Art

One of the most rewarding things I love about being a wildlife artist is the many opportunities it opens up to support animal conservation charities and causes.

About 6 years ago I started my pastel journey with drawing Fraser Island Dingo’s, firstly because my husband and myself absolutely love them and have always felt that they are misunderstood as a dangerous beast who always seems to get a bad rap. Where in fact they are crucial to the delicate Australian eco-system, as the only main predator we have. I have always been drawn to the Fraser Island Dingo’s because 1) they are at my back door living in the Fraser Coast Shire and 2) they are the only 100% true dingo species because they are isolated on an island that other dogs are excluded from.

This led me to becoming a member of a small local conservation group ‘Save Fraser Island Dingo’s’, which in turn gave me the idea of donating a percentage of sales I make from my Dingo drawings to this group to help with the protection of these beautiful animals. The beauty of this is not only am I helping and feeling good about it, but the group is more than happy to share my work and posts which go to their followers of Dingo lovers, and in turn helps to sell my work which leads to them getting a donation, so it works for both parties. The Australian Dingo’s are a cause I hold dear to my heart and have also helped out The Dingo Den in Sydney with donations of a drawing for them to auction and a gift bag with some of my merchandise inside. Even though some of these may be small donations, they all help in raising awareness and providing a bit of extra money.

Another charity that I felt inspired to help a number of years ago was one that was providing shelter and care for misplaced orangutans in Borneo due to loss of habitat. I created a few Orangutan drawings and gave them to my friends in which I asked them to donate to this charity in return for the drawing. So this is another idea if you don’t want to worry about the money side of things, just ask people to donate direct to the charity. I am thinking this could be a great yearly challenge for me or anyone, create a number of drawings in a month which people could acquire with a donation. You pick the charity and focus your art around that.

Anyone can take part by uploading your piece to social media, using the hashtag #S ketchForWildlife and help raise funds through the sale of your art. You don’t have to sell for 100 pound like Emily – you can choose whatever price you feel is right for you. Then ask your followers to donate through the David Shepherd website and to send you confirmation of payment.

Another amazing charity that is run in association with art is The David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation as mentioned previously. It was set up by David (a world renowned wildlife artist) to help turn the tide on species extinction, as a thank you to all the animals that he had painted over the years and to give back to them. As a wildlife artist you will probably of heard about the Wildlife Artist of the year competition which is held every year in London. It welcomes entries from hundreds of talented artists worldwide, in celebration of outstanding wildlife art. If anything you really need to visit their website to see the amazing work that has been entered over the years, and it is a bucket list goal for any wildlife artist to be shortlisted.

So as you can see there are many vast and varied ways wildlife artists can contribute to helping out species that we hold dear to our hearts whether they are in your own backyard or overseas. It doesn’t cost you a lot to get involved other than time but it makes you feel proud and helps out those animals that make it possible for us to create the art that we love.

If you found this post useful and love drawing wildlife and nature then pop on over to my private Facebook page and become a subscriber, we’d love to have you.

I'd also love you to join my online membership THE CREATIVE BARN waitlist where you will be first to know when the doors swing open again, plus you'll receive a FREE tutorial while your waiting.

Kerri xx

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Categories: : art, conservation, wildlife