Irish TWASI Member Stephen Jamison creates new murals for Belfast Zoo May 2022
New murals create a splash of colour for Belfast Zoo.
Local artist Stephen Jamison was commissioned to paint a colourful new mural inside our education centre. Stephen has been painting wildlife for over 15 years and is a regular visitor to Belfast Zoo. His mural is a tribute to some of our most popular animals and he has created a striking jungle habitat with lots of species hidden within it. Visitors who book an education discovery session can view this mural.
Recent visitors may also have noticed that the bottom of the old Bellevue steps has been given a colourful transformation. Coinciding with this year’s hit the North street art festival and with help from Belfast-based art collective Seedhead Arts, London street artist Irony created a vibrant piece of art to transform the bottom of the steps. The new artwork has created a striking piece of art for passers-by to look at that also reflects the history of the local area. The artist has incorporated a lion, giraffe and flamingo into the design, reinforcing the zoo’s long association with the area.
Last but by no means least, mural number three can be found on our farm. This large mural shows one of our most popular species at the zoo – the sloth! The mural is very timely for us as just last week we welcomed the arrival of female two-toed sloth, Priscita, from a zoo in Germany. All visitors to the zoo can view this mural.
We hope that these murals will act as a catalyst for further development in the zoo and wider area.
Courtesy Belfast Zoo
Pollyanna Pickering Foundation – Press Release : 08/02/21
Peter Andre Draws the Winning Ticket
Singer, reality star and TV presenter Peter Andre joined TWASI patron Anna-Louise Pickering, president of the Pollyanna Pickering Foundation to choose the winning ticket in their winter prize draw.
“I was so delighted that Peter picked the winner for us this year” Anna-Louise told us “especially because he has previously been out to Amboseli in Kenya to visit one of the projects which the Pollyanna Pickering Foundation has funded – building lion proof enclosures to protect Masai cattle from predators – which means the lions are not then killed in retaliation.”
Peter rose to fame on the 1990’s when his hit Mysterious Girl reached number 2 in the UK charts, and his picture was suddenly plastered on the walls of teenage girls the world over – but he is also a great animal lover, and alongside Anna-Louise acts as a patron of the Born Free Foundation.
Initially breaking through as a singer, Peter’s early albums sold in their millions – and 2004 offered Peter the opportunity to make a comeback on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!. He proved popular with TV audiences, coming third in the competition – and while filming in the Australian jungle he met former glamour model Katie Price. They went on to marry a year later, and then film a series of reality show both together and separately. Peter has gone on to become a popular TV presenter, hosting shows including 60 minute makeover and the weekly show Give a Pet a Home which works alongside the RSPCA in Birmingham.
The lucky winner Ms Mee of Swanwick has won an original pen and ink study of Blue Tits.
Between the sales of prize draw tickets, donations and a percentage of sales from Pollyanna’s Winter exhibition the Foundation has raised £6000.00 to fund their ‘Wildlife into The Wild’ –project which will fund the development and publication of Best Practice Guidelines which outline the key steps that need to be undertaken to rehabilitate and release an individual captive wild animal to the wild. This ambitious and comprehensive project resonates strongly with the work carried out by wildlife artist Pollyanna during her lifetime and will help individual animals and endangered species globally into the future.
For further information please contact Anna-Louise 07957 158311 annalouise@w3z.net
The Pollyanna Pickering Foundation : Established in 2000 by Wildlife Artist Pollyanna Pickering and her daughter Anna-Louise the Foundation is a small but effective non-profit organisation which campaigns internationally to prevent the exploitation of wildlife and raises funds to support animal welfare and conservation projects worldwide.
Pollyanna Pickering was recognised as one of Europe’s foremost wildlife artists – her critically acclaimed paintings and fine art prints sell in over eighty countries world wide. Driven by the beauty and intricacy of the wilderness, she was renowned for her travels into some of the most remote parts of the world, where she painted endangered species in their increasingly fragile habitats. She was patron of The Wildlife Art Society International, and Derby University awarded her an honorary degree in recognition of her outstanding achievements in the arts. A familiar face on TV, the most recent documentary about her work ‘Made in England’ was broadcast on BBC1.
For further background information about Pollyanna and her Foundation visit www.pollyannapickering.co.uk
Ruth Baker-Walton’s donation to the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
On the sale of this painting, Ruth will donate 100% to David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation. For more information please email Ruth Baker Walton.
Shimba’s Story
The story behind the painting comes from one of our many visits to Kenya when taking a day safari to Shimba Hills Reserve near the coast south of Mombasa. We had taken a lunch break at the Shimba Hills Lodge, which like Treetops is built up on stilts beside a man made waterhole. While waiting for lunch, presumably aware of my camera equipment and long lens, the head waiter asked if we would like to see something special. When I enquired as to what that would be he just smiled and said ‘wait and see but get your camera ready’ then proceed to throw a bread roll into the air over the waterhole. We had noticed previously a couple of Fish Eagles sitting in a tree on the opposite side and one of them immediately swooped down taking the bread roll between its talons before it dropped into the water. I managed to capture quite a few shots before it returned to its perch and proceed to eat the roll ! A little while later while eating lunch a small family of forest elephants came out of the trees, walking around the waterhole towards some sugar cane sticks the hotel had hung down to attract them for the visitors. Although I took photographs, the angle wasn’t good enough for the picture idea I had now formed in my mind. Fortunately I have hundred of elephant photo’s taken over the years and searching through them I found the family group I eventually used. Although they had been on a safari to Tsavo East I felt they perfectly fitted the image I wanted to capture following the experience. At the time I had been experimenting with paintings that used monochrome and colour and decided that ‘Shimba’ was the ideal subject for this technique, putting the elephants and their background in monochrome, using watercolour pencils both wet and dry to create the required textures. To highlight the Fish Eagle and the foreground I used watercolours and substituted the bread roll for a fish, more appropriate I think you will agree. Thus ‘Shimba’ was born, a momento of a special experience.
Ruth Baker Walton has published her first children’s novel called ‘The Secret of Rookery Manor’.
Ruth has served on the Committee as Regional Group Organiser, then Chairman and finally a President until a few years ago.
You can view Ruth’s book trailer on Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ig78Nb0JVIQ
For more information contact Ruth on – info@ruthbakerwalton.com
If you would like to add your own news please Email me with the details
Pollyanna Pickering Foundation – Press Release : 11.03.21
HRH Princess Michael supports Pollyanna Pickering Foundation
HRH Princess Michael of Kent has given her support to the Pollyanna Pickering Foundation backing a call to sponsor a young cheetah being cared for in an Ethiopian sanctuary.
In remembrance of what would have been the much loved late wildlife artist Pollyanna Pickering’s 78th birthday, the Born Free Foundation honoured her by naming a rescued cheetah cub in her memory.
Pollyanna was world renowned for her paintings of endangered species sketched from life during expeditions which took her to some of the most remote and inhospitable parts of the world. She acted as a Patron of The Born Free Foundation for many years, and was delighted when her artwork could help to raise funds for a cause so close to her heart.
Pollyanna cheetah and her brother were rescued from the illegal wildlife trade and given a lifetime home at Ensessa Kotteh sanctuary in Ethiopia. People can help support the ongoing care of the little cheetah by sponsoring her for £35.00 a year – and anyone who ‘befriends’ this beautiful cat before 30th July this year will be entered into a draw to win a very special prize.
HRH Princess Michael of Kent has supported this project by graciously signing three copies of her book A Cheetah’s Tale.
In the early 1960s Princess Michael lived with her father on his farm in Mozambique. It was one of the happiest times of her life in part due to an orphaned cheetah cub called Tess. The relationship between the young Princess and Tess, whom she hand-reared and later successfully released into the wild having trained her to hunt and survive on her own, will touch every reader’s heart.
A Cheetah’s Tale tells this delightful story of a girl growing up and the incredible bond that can exist between people and animals. Beautifully written and packed with fabulous photographs, it is also a wonderful portrait of Africa – the cheetah version of Born Free.
Tess was the inspiration for Princess Michael’s lifelong interest in conservation and the epilogue covers some of her work as Patron of the Endangered Species Centre and the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF). It was through this passion for conservation that Pollyanna met Princess Michael on several occasions.
Become a friend of Pollyanna Cheetah at www.pollyannapickering.co.uk/foundation or phone 01629 558510 for further information.
Princess Michael presents Pollyanna’s daughter Anna-Louise Pickering with the signed books.
Pollyanna Pickering with a rescued cheetah
For further information please contact Anna-Louise 07957 158311 annalouise@w3z.net
Pollyanna Pickering was recognised as one of Europe’s foremost wildlife artists – her critically acclaimed paintings and fine art prints sell in over eighty countries world wide. Driven by the beauty and intricacy of the wilderness, she was renowned for her travels into some of the most remote parts of the world, where she painted endangered species in their increasingly fragile habitats. She was patron of The Wildlife Art Society International, and Derby University awarded her an honorary degree in recognition of her outstanding achievements in the arts. A familiar face on TV, the most recent documentary about her work ‘Made in England’ was broadcast on BBC1.
Princess Michael of Kent (born Baroness Marie Christine von Reibnitz, is a member of the British Royal Family. She is married to Prince Michael of Kent. Princess Michael was an interior designer before becoming an author she has written several books on European Royalty. She is Royal patron of several animal conservation organisations.
For background information about Pollyanna and her Foundation visit www.pollyannapickering.co.uk
Edinburgh wildlife artist to donate all proceeds from her work to conservation charities
Growing up next to Edinburgh Zoo fostered a love of animals and along with a natural talent for drawing it opened the door to a long and successful career for Carol Barrett. Now after more than 30 years as a professional wildlife artist, she has announced all proceeds from her paintings from now on will go direct to conservation charities.
Carol, who lives in Corstorphine with her ex-MP husband John, makes regular trips to Africa to paint animals in the wild and has also visited Australia. She currently has some works for sale in an online exhibition and auction, Sketch for Survival 2020, which features several other leading wildlife artists and closes on Sunday. But she will also sell paintings through her website and undertake commissions.And she has several charities that will benefit ranging from Born Free to Explorers against Extinction and elephant conservation group Tusk.
She said: “I’ve always been a conservationist but I’ve had time to reflect over this period and I’m also getting older myself – the last article that was written about me called me a doyenne of wildlife art – so I’m thinking it’s time to give back.”
Carol, who works in pastel, watercolour, acrylic, ink, and mixed media, graduated in drawing and painting at Edinburgh College of Art – but her interest in wildlife art started well before that.
“I’ve always had this passion for animals,” she said. “I think if I’d been incredibly clever at school I would have wanted to be a vet but I used what talent I had. I was always in the art room, always sketching and it was animals that inspired me. We lived very close to the zoo and rather than walk the boring way home I’d walk through the zoo.” She later became artist in residence at the zoo in 1994.
But it was four years earlier, in 1990, that she first visited Africa. “I’d always wanted to go to Africa. It was like a Pandora’s Box that opened. I thought ‘I’ve got to paint these animals’ and I’ve been doing it ever since. “I feel I’ve been so inspired and so lucky in my life to actually see these incredible creatures and I really feel I want to give something back to them and to help the local people.”
When she was in Australia she visited Kangaroo Island, one of the country’s most important wildlife sanctuaries, which has since been hit by wildfires. “It was a fantastic place and it’s heartbreaking to see the complete devastation to the whole island,” she said. “It’s going to take it forever to recover, but nature is incredible and if it is given support and encouragement it’s amazing how it can come back right from the very edge. I agree with David Attenborough that it’s not too late, if we all pull ourselves together and act now we can make a difference.”
Carol said she had made the decision on donating all proceeds of her work to conservation after her last exhibition was cut short because of Covid. “It also coincided with my mum passing – it makes you realise you’re not here forever and I really wanted to give something back. Wildlife has made a huge impression on me and endangered animals really need our help.”
Courtesy of Edinburgh News article by Ian Swanson
It is with great pleasure we can announce that Emma Able has been selected as Runner-Up for The Artist Award in the Explorers Against Extinction 2020 Arts initiative. Many Congratulations Emma!
Pollyanna Pickering Foundation Press Release : 02.08.20
Rescued Cheetah Cub named in Pollyanna’s memory
In remembrance of what would have been the much loved late TWASI patron Pollyanna Pickering’s 78th birthday, the Born Free Foundation are honouring her by naming a rescued cheetah cub in her memory.
Pollyanna was word renowned for her paintings of endangered species sketched from life during expeditions which took her to some of the most remote and inhospitable parts of the world. She acted as a Patron of The Born Free Foundation for many years, and was always delighted when her artwork could help to raise funds for a cause so close to her heart.
Born Free has rescued two cheetah cubs from the illegal wildlife trade and given them a lifetime home at Ensessa Kotteh, its wildlife sanctuary in Ethiopia. The male and female cubs, are thought to be siblings. They were seized by the Somali State authorities in Ethiopia, at about three months old, having most likely been taken from the wild to meet the demands of the pet trade in the Middle East.
Both cubs were undernourished and walking with a slight limp, but after a few weeks of care are starting to show signs of recovery. For the moment, they are continuing to be closely monitored and are receiving veterinary care to help improve their condition.
Virginia McKenna, actress and founder of Born Free said “Pollyanna first came into our lives 30 years ago. She travelled to India to do a painting of five tigers we had rescued from a travelling circus. We were, from the start, bound by our love and admiration for animals. And it was through her extraordinary talent as a wildlife artist, her loyalty to our charity and our deepening friendship, that our relationship never ended. Her name will live on through Pollyanna, the beautiful little cheetah, and in our hearts.”
Pollyanna’s daughter Anna-Louise who continues as President of the Pollyanna Pickering Foundation told us “There could be no more wonderful and fitting tribute to Pollyanna. She was passionate about conservation and the animals which she painted and always had a special love for cheetahs. Our Foundation will fund the care of little Pollyanna cheetah in her new home, and we are proud to be able to give this beautiful cat the opportunity of a safe and happy life in the beautiful surroundings of Born Free’s sanctuary after such a sad and traumatic beginning”.
You can find out more about Pollyanna cheetah at –
www.pollyannapickering.co.uk/foundation
Notes to Editor :
For further information or additional photographs please contact Anna-Louise 01629 558510 annalouise@talktalk.net
Pollyanna Pickering was recognised as one of Europe’s foremost wildlife artists – her critically acclaimed paintings and fine art prints sell in over eighty countries world wide. Driven by the beauty and intricacy of the wilderness, she was renowned for her travels into some of the most remote parts of the world, where she painted endangered species in their increasingly fragile habitats. She was patron of The Wildlife Art Society International, and Derby University awarded her an honorary degree in recognition of her outstanding achievements in the arts. A familiar face on TV, the most recent documentary about her work ‘Made in England’ was broadcast on BBC1.
Virginia McKenna OBE is a stage and screen actress, author and wildlife campaigner. She is best known for the films A Town Like Alice, Ring of Bright Water and of course Born Free in which she played the role of Joy Adamson. She co-founded The Born Free Foundation alongside her late husband Bill Travers and their son Will Travers who is now President of the charity. Her tireless campaigning has changed laws and transformed people’s attitudes to animal welfare and wildlife conservation. Pollyanna was a good friend of Virginia’s and a longstanding patron of the Born Free Foundation.
For background information about Pollyanna and her Foundation visit www.pollyannapickering.co.uk
The winner of the Association of Animal Artists Inaugural Chairman’s Award 2019 Lisa Ann Watkins.
Lisa Ann wins this award at a point in her career when she is beginning to branch out with her art into new and different areas, including working on her first book and teaching coloured pencil art workshops overseas, including in the USA. With an impressive number of social media followers, Lisa Ann has managed to maintain the connection with her audience, inspiring them to progress their artistic skills and knowledge of their craft, whilst sharing her love of animals.
After gaining a degree in Fashion and Textile Design, Lisa Ann’s creative journey has taken a long route as she turned away from art for several years. Finally, inspired to find her creative side once again, she started drawing with coloured pencils, winning art competitions and gaining confidence. Exhibitions followed, magazine articles were written and as her teaching style develops so Lisa Ann has found different outlets to reach her audience with. Lisa Ann encourages her followers to learn not only about art but about the business side of working as an artist. She generously talks about her own career decisions and more recently has shared interviews with other working artists in their studios. She also shares her experiences of trying other art media and techniques.
Lisa Ann’s determination to help animal welfare and conservation shines through. Animals are not only the focus of her artwork but of her life. The use of social media enables Lisa Ann’s followers to engage with her tangible involvement with animal rescue centres and sanctuaries around the world. Lisa Ann uses her artwork to help support wildlife conservation; her artwork has featured in wildlife exhibitions where she has not only built awareness but helped to raise funds.
The judges admire the way Lisa Ann manages a multi-faceted career as a coloured pencil artist, generously sharing her own artistic practice whilst all the while giving a voice to animals she not only shares her life with, but loves to create images of.
Courtesy of Anne Coreless Association of Animal Artists
Anna-Louise Shortlisted for Lifetime Achievement Award
TWASI patron Anna-Louise Pickering is honoured to have been named as a finalist in the prestigious national Animal Star Awards, which have been described as the BAFTAs of the animal World! Anna-Louise has been selected from a field of over 50 entries as a finalist in the Lifetime Achievement category
The Animal Star Awards were founded by Mary Burgess, an animal lover who wanted to create an award to give recognition to animals & people who have achieved extraordinary things. The annual event celebrates people doing great things for animals, as well as animals that do extraordinary things for people. This year’s winners will be announced in a glittering ceremony at the Marriott Hotel in Portsmouth on the 19th October.
Anna-Louise is an acclaimed writer, photographer and conservationist, who has dedicated her entire life to the welfare of endangered, sick and vulnerable creatures. For fifteen years she ran a registered hospital for birds of prey from her home. Caring mainly for injured and orphaned raptors, she also rehabilitated British mammals, including foxes, hares and squirrels.
Alongside her late Mother, the Internationally Acclaimed Wildlife Artist Pollyanna Pickering she co-founded the Pollyanna Pickering Foundation, a small but effective non-profit organisation which campaigns internationally to prevent the exploitation of wildlife and raises funds to support animal welfare and conservation projects worldwide. Since Pollyanna’s sudden and unexpected passing last year, Anna-Louise has been committed to continuing and expanding the work of the Foundation. In the last twelve months alone the Foundation has funded a unit for rehabilitating orphaned otter cubs in Scotland, built a hedgehog rescue unit in Surrey, purchased camera traps for use in tracking snow leopards in the Himalayas, and helped to create a ‘shock free zone’ for wildlife in the rainforests of Costa Rica by insulating power lines – alongside many smaller projects.
Along with Pollyanna, Anna-Louise has undertaken a remarkable series of expeditions – covering all seven continents – to study endangered species in their natural habitats. She has travelled by dog sled in the High Arctic, camping on the ice at temperatures of -40, canoed through crocodile infested rivers, and been charged by a wild tiger in search of her subjects. She has trekked in the Bale mountains of Ethiopia to photograph the Simien wolf– the rarest wolf in the world, and the only wolf in Africa, there are none in captivity anywhere in the world. She was the first western woman ever to travel into a remote area of the Tibetan borderlands, where she worked in a hospital for sick pandas.
The resulting photographs and articles about her expeditions have appeared in publications worldwide highlighting the plight of threatened species and environments, and she is the author of five critically acclaimed books.
Anna-Louise is dedicated in her support of other charities, acting as Patron of societies including North Derbyshire Animal Support, Parrotaid and Cats in Need, and she is a Trustee of the African/Asian Conservation Trust.
She also continues to work with Pollyanna’s incredibly legacy of artwork, which continues to be published by charities including the WWF, the Born Free Foundation and the RSPB, raising funds for the causes closest to both their hearts.
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Congratulations to the following TWASI members who made it to the final of the David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year 2019 and made some sales already.
Julia Dubinina International Member, Neal Griffin, Christina Lensces, David Skidmore and Sarah Trenchard.
https://davidshepherd.org/art/wildlife-artist-year/wildlife-artist-of-the-year-shortlist
Please click on the links below to view news from previous years –
The Wildlife Art Society International 