The urge to paint, stemmed from a merging of thoughts and deep emotions gleaned from years of being in the presence of, and associating closely with, the Wild.  My work portrays a message from Nature – that, we as a species, need to urgently contemplate our purpose in life as a part of Nature.  To begin this discovery, we need to look at the spiritual side of the natural world – a world unaffected and unimpressed by our addictions of materialism and arrogance.

Humans will always remain a part of Nature – that’s where we originate and where we eventually lay down to rest.  Most of us experience a sense of wonder, a sense of belonging in the presence of the Wild.

Perhaps, we feel uncomfortable with the fact that we are part of an even greater food chain. We are racing to control Nature, or at least to manipulate it, so that we can claim to have the power to change it.  When, in the serenity of the Wild, one realizes personal insignificance in the face of immeasurable majesty.

It is true to say that all of Man’s problems stem from his inability to sit in silence, our desperate urge to ‘progress’ has taken away our ability to use our instinct. Only in a void can we exercise a clearer thought process –quiet open space is not only our escape – it is our beginning.  It is said that we fill our minds with unimportant but urgent issues, so that we don’t have the time to truly examine ourselves.

Time is an enigma, a man made word – that runs our lives day in day out -and yet we are here for a mere space between moments, hell bent on rushing around destroying the wild in the name of “progress”, our ‘time’ in this form on earth has a purpose, there is little doubt that homo sapiens have a high level of intelligence – an intelligence that is now being completely abused as we charge forward in an unsustainable fashion, that we will ultimately consume ourselves.  Spare a moment to consider the horrific consequences of ecological collapse.

Whilst there is nature, we can luxuriate in the squalor of humankind, and continue to presume to be superior, above nature. However, without a healthy environment, we will find ourselves under so much survival pressure that ironically, we would only have Nature to resort to, there is nothing else.  The balance, is the understanding that, we are as much a part of Nature as it is of us.

We need to appreciate and learn from the Wild, most of all, we need to protect it, as destroying it is destroying a symbiotic part of ourselves.  I believe that people who are interested in learning more about themselves and in finding a solution to being, must attempt as often as possible, to be in the presence of the Wild, in isolation from the clamour of modern society.

Much of my work has been on elephants, I have had a deep connection with elephants since I can remember.  They epitomize nature in all its grandeur. I have been intrigued and humbled by the aura of a deep intelligence and ‘knowing’ emanating from these animals. There is so much literature about elephants that has been published over the years by various people  – scientific journals discussing habits, breeding, feeding and of course the “elephant problem”  (more aptly named – “the human problem”).
But amidst all of these endless scientific lines there is more…..with elephants, we witness a purity and purpose which stimulates a reverence for Nature as a whole. Elephants are, so completely and so honestly, the “oldest souls”.

It is often only after experiencing the excruciating loss of a loved one, or the wonderment at the birth of a child that we begin to realize that, in fact, we are as much an integral part of the Natural World as the Mopane Flies and Elephants are.  At these times, we begin to examine ourselves and listen to our spiritual whisperings – questioning our compulsive, materialistic world.