Untamed Artists Network

Leigh Rust has been incredibly busy this month with a string of wildlife art demonstrations and solo exhibition on the grounds of Melbourne Zoo in conjunction to the Zoo's annual Twilight series of concerts. The 4 nights were been seen by up to 5500 people and videos of the demonstrations are available to view on his website.

For those of you wondering how Daniel got on with his mammoth Cross River Gorilla project check out the link to his site for more details. 

It really is a wonderful read!

Daniel and his wife are still on the media trail in the wash up to this event. 

I'm also proud to share with you the new work he has created as a result of the expedition...

Congratulations to Alison Clark who recently took out the award for best animal study at this year's Pastel Society of Victoria exhibition. Alison beat out some big names to take this award and on behalf of her fellow Untamed Artists I just want to let her know how proud we are of her.

Here is a pic of the work that got her the award...

Just wanted to let everyone know that I've made some waves in the latest Australia at Large online art competition held by the Australian Guild of Realist Artists. After putting six entries into the competition I had 4 entries make the top 50, with "Bathtime - Asian Elephant" coming in as the highest ranked wildlife work. 

I'm pleased to see some of our members have jumped on board to help with the upcoming art auctions for the Wildlife Direct Gorilla Project this month. The auctions are to be held from September 8th to the 18th.

With the recent murders of the mountain gorillas being highlighted in the media it would be wonderful if we could make an impact in bringing their plight into the public eye.

For more details and to join the group contact Robin Andreae on this address:  AHMG.WDGP@gmail.com

I'm very pleased to let everyone know that our own Holley Ryan got some national recognition in the latest Australian Artist magazine as a finalist in their latest art competition. Her entry, "Tiger Cub" looks fantastic in print. Congratulations again!

Just a quick note to let members know that Australia's richest art prize for natural history and wildlife will be held in South Australia late this year. If you'd like to enter please check out the website and download a copy of the entry form.It would be great if the Untamed Artists could have an impact on a show like this!

Hi all, just a quick heads up to introduce you to our newest member: internationally reknowned artist Dr Daniel Taylor, WNAG. 

Daniel has launched a major conservation initiative called Art for Africa. 

Art for Africa's goal is to heighten public attention and awareness about the continent's endangered wildlife and to raise funds for their conservation. It also supports education of schoolchildren in Africa.

Please make sure that you have a look at this amazing project and tell as many people as you can about it! 

This small project was something I thought up last summer, when I visited the beautiful province of Niassa in northern Mozambique. My aim was to secure enough funding to produce an initial 50 footballs to be distributed throughout the various villages located in and around the Niassa reserve, with the intention of expanding the project in the future. Through the help of Fauna & Flora International and generous contributions from private donors, this first stage has been possible, and production is now under way.

The footballs are produced by a charity called "Alive & Kicking" (www.aliveandkicking.org.uk), and are made strong enough to survive the harsh conditions of rural Africa. They also carry messages about the dangers of HIV/AIDS and malaria - both very real threats the the people who live in these villages and their children. As well as these educational messages, the footballs will be branded with a logo for the reserve, which I have designed (below), depicting an African Wild Dog as a flagship species for the reserve.

The future of the people and wilderness in Niassa depends on good cooperation between the reserve management, the communities, and the private concessions around the protected area. This small project will hopefully only help to reinforce that cooperation.

Here is a link to a short video I made: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6OrxoJB60I