Artist Statement

This work is a collection of realistic wildlife paintings that bring wild animals closer to us and depicts my admiration of God's creation. My pieces contain various animals from all different areas of the world, each representing a different aspect of my faith. In my work I explore the animal personalities and characteristics which make them all unique.

The concept behind my work is to try and capture the beauty of the Lord's creations, share my appreciation with others, as well as to show wildlife in ways that some people might not get to see in real life. Some of the basic themes in the work are showing intimacy with wildlife, different personalities, and the uniqueness of each animal. Typically focusing on predators, I give them each a name, and create backstories for them, giving viewers a better understanding of creatures that they are standing face-to-face with.

For this series of work in particular, each animal represents a different aspect of my faith. "Iskra", the wolf, represents the aspect of family in my faith. This family is not only those I am related to, but as well as the family of believers I have gained through my faith. "Emmanuel", the tiger, is representative of protection, more specifically the protection of God. I have peace of mind that I am protected from the evil of this world, and I have nothing to fear. "Kova", the bear, represents the strength I have through faith. Strength to walk through each day unafraid of the challenges and hardships I face because I know through God, I am strong enough to persevere.

As a Christian, I believe my talents were given to me by God, so I may use them to glorify His name, not my own. It may not be visually apparent in my work, but my pieces are about the glory of God, and the beautiful Earth he created..”