The Passion and the Pain
I love to paint animals.
Nothing gives me greater pleasure than spending wonderful hours with my paintings – except being with the animals; smelling the wonderful scents of the wild, the dust – experiencing what life is like when we, as humans, know our place in world and that we are not the wonderfully important beings that we like to imagine ourselves to be.
I cannot express just how much passion I have to protect them, ensure that they will continue to live as they are meant to – not in cages for our pleasure, but out there in the veld.
I have always loved animals. I even love snakes and one day I will tell you about my adventures with snakes.
But for now, I want to focus on a very important issue. Passion and love inevitably also includes pain. The pain of knowing that if we are not aware, if we do not care enough, if we continue on our selfish paths of exploitation, abuse and greed – there will be no more wild places and wild animals left.
An excerpt from my blog: (please note that there are disturbing photographs)
I need to get this off my chest. I have been upset and angry for some time now and perhaps I just need to write this down and hope that it will help alleviate these feelings. So, please forgive me while I vent and rant about a subject that clouds my mind with passion and pain.
It is no big secret that I absolutely love animals. Doing a wildlife painting, no matter how long it takes, is my way of trying to show that passion. I am smoldering about what is happening in our world where we so easily decide the fate of other species – for no other reason than politics and greed.
Elephants! Magnificent, majestic, powerful and absolutely vulnerable once again. I am not going to list pages of facts about elephants, their family ties, communication, etc. Instead, I will list links at the end of the post about what is happening to these animals and what we humans do so easily to satisfy our greed.
Before I place the links, please take a look at these photographs.
Beautiful, eh?
Useful and ingenious ways to improve the quality of our lives.
Ivory.
How can we live without these stunning examples of skill and beauty?
How much does it cost to possess such beauty?
Who are the people who desire these objects of art and beauty?
I wonder if they think of the cost when they run their fingers along the smooth surface and admire the skill and genius of the carver.
Somehow, I don’t think the cost is of any concern to them.
It cannot be that they are ignorant of the cost. They just don’t care, do they? And, if they don’t care about the cost, what is next on their list of items they must have? Demand and supply.
While certain members of the Useless Nimcompoops rub their hands in anticipation of great riches, us poor peasants must appreciate that at least we will still have photographs and paintings to remind us of beautiful beasts that shared this world with us.
We can run our fingers along the smooth surface of the photograph or feel the texture on a painting and wonder at the beauty and glory of elephants, rhino, tigers, cheetahs and an endless list of species we once had.
Unless we make our voices heard.
Comments
Oh Avril…I could hardly look it’s so brutal: the things that go on in the world are so frighteningly horrible…I had thought that this kind of thing with regard to the elephants was over, but I guess I was wrong…I will certainly visit the sites you mention above…
I am sorry about the terrible photograph. This one was actually not the worst – its all just so horrible. We all know about ‘blood diamonds’, but in Africa today, people are also being massacred with the money used from trading in ivory. So, it’s not only about these poor animals but how evil this trade really is.
– Avril Brand
Avril…..for many years I have felt the same……not only about wildlife, but even to the poor chickens that stand in cages laying eggs till they die…never seeing sunlight …squashed against each other….even while the one next to you rots away because it has died…..there is no excuse for harming an animal and I think the all the people who want furs, ivory, snake-skin boots or bags should wake up! It’s a sad world we live in Avril and I will most certainly visit the sites you have led us too. We revel in the beauty of art….not slaughter….but some people just don’t care what it costs to get that beauty to make them look big or richer or fancier……to me it just makes them look like the instigator, as they send out the order for the goods, and also the accomplice to the murder of the animal.
That is so true, Sal! If people did not WANT these blood products, there would be no market for it. How people can imagine that they look better or their homes are more beautiful when they use these products, I can never understand.
– Avril Brand
Only watch this video if you have a strong stomach!
Who cares
Ohhhh Avril….I know this!!! Yes I know…i give so many time my money to the good Foundations to help!! I am for years living with minimum money…I have 5 chickens…the oldest is 11 years old!! They live in harmoney and peace…I have rescue many cats ( i have three left overs) and I have my doggy Cathy…never want animals pets in a cage…I learn my kids in the pets shore to look at the animals and ask them…do you really want a pet in a cage? and they understand me… All the little things in the world, friendship and love, are the survivors…believe me…one day we will survive with all the animals who have the love and attention from people like you Avril!!! thanks!! hugs…Ien
Oh Ien… that is so beautiful. I, too, cannot imagine life without animals. My little doggy was rescued from a puppy farm – even now, years later, he has a very nervous disposition and we spoil him terribly. He hates the sound of keys and becomes very upset.
Where I can, I give to animal organisations and conservation. These charities cannot afford the big tv ads and brochures and so few people are aware of the good work they do.
– Avril Brand
I have written to everyone on the list to ask them to appose the ivory trade. I wish I could put all the email addresses here but it does not fit. We can make a difference Avril….I’m sure we can. Thank you for being a good human being my friend xx
Oh Sal!! You have me all in tears now!!! Thank you so much, my friend.. hugsxxx
– Avril Brand
Just copy and paste these addresses for the Ivory trade.
ngoy_pascal@yahoo.fr;mike@hq.fcghana.com;conservationature@datatech.net.ml;wild.lfeg@yahoo.com;director@kws.org;kipngetich@kws.org;dwnp@gov.bw;mengxianlin@gmail.com;muna@epa.org.kw;risa.kasai@ge-japan.ch;wenforcement@rscn.org.jo;cmaquieira@minrel.gov.cl;dmzapata@minambiente.gov.co;joaquin.calvo@sinac.go.cr;seconap@conap.gob.gt;fishdiv@caribsurf.com;dpn-cites@minambiente.it;trevor.salmon@defra.gsi.gov.uk;oystein.storkersen@dirnat.no;virginia.poter@ec.gc.ca;martin.vargas@semarnat.gob.mx;kerry.smith@environment.gov.au;g.b.raaphorst@minlnv.nl;gamohammad@qatarenv.org.qa
Oh Avril, this was such a sad thing to read. There is little else that is more heartbreaking to me than the senseless slaughter of any animal for any reason… Animals are my heart and my joy… I don’t eat them, I don’t wear them, I rescue any that are in need, regardless of species, and I support animal charities as much as possible. I feel literally physically ill when I read of things like this. I just can’t fathom how a human can be so selfish as to think that some silly piece of carved rock is worth such a horrid price tag. Thank you for sharing your passion with others — I hope more people of like mind step forth and do the same. Education and fostering compassion and love are the only ways to stop practices like this.
I so hope one day we can live in peace with our fellow creatures and give them the care and respect they deserve.
By the way, I’d love to hear your snake stories. I have a few of those myself. :)
The problem with the elephants is that for some devious reasons, the UN and CITES seem to no longer care. South Africa will cull thousands of these animals because the CAN! As a Safrican, I hang my head in shame that this is what greed (covered as ‘concern for the growing numbers’) has lead to.
I feel the same way, EC… I feel helpless when these things happen and can only thank the power of the internet to give us the voices we would otherwise not have.
My animal conservation interests started many many, years ago with snakes… valuable creatures that are killed for nothing else than superstition and ignorance.
– Avril Brand
Dear Avril, killing for nothing……if nothing means money! too ugly with no cure, i am a member in my area where i live, together with many places, hope and prey for successfully.
Rach… that is the problem… people with enough money have no scruples. It’s a competition to see who can have the rarest items for their private collections…. if and when we find out that they are up to no good, we must expose them for what they really are.
– Avril Brand
It is sick to think that some people have to drape the fur, of foxes, sea; pups, lynx, leopards, and man many other animals. Your pictures tell us that our selfishness know boundary, has no compassion just greed.
Most of the furs come from so called fur farms in china, where the animals are killed by stomping on their head, or smashing several times on concrete flooring, then the fur is stripped, often while they are still alive.
We can not just blame the people who are committing these despicable things, but also the consumer, the person who buys these things for vanity and ego
Thanks for bringing the subject to our mind and hopefully conscience
Thank you CJ… yes, indeed. There are things going on in this world that we, as humans, will pay a very high price for one day. Have you seen the film: Earthlings
I cried throughout the entire film… I am still upset just thinking about it. I forced myself to watch but there are bits that made me sob so much that, gratefully, my vision was too blurred.
It is just so, CJ… demand and supply…
– Avril Brand
DO NOT BE SORRY OR APOLOGIZE for any thing you have said or shown here. It is beyond unbearable what they are doing to these magnificent, intelligent, gentle animals. Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you, dear Byron! I know its terrible to see these things but sometimes we need to overcome our sensitivity and accept that there are things happening in the world that will not go away if we hide ourselves from the uncomfortable truths.
I cannot bear to see these things… yet… I force myself because it serves as a reminder of what I fight for. We can be influenced by the media about things that happen in a far off country and we are all up in arms… but we are just sheep… led by the nose and manipulated.
We must find out for ourselves… get different points of view and only THEN do we react. And when we know that something is the TRUTH… we must react, whatever our personalities. I hate violence, I don’t even like confrontation but I have to confront things in my life and in the world or cower away in a corner and lose my self-respect.
– Avril Brand