Matriarch

When I was looking for inspiration for a new elephant design I looked east towards Bangkok.
This year the Elephant Parade will hold it's first parade in Thailand, the spiritual home of the parade, which was founded in 2006 by father and son Marc and Mike Spits. Whilst on holiday in Thailand, Marc met a baby elephant named Mosha, who had lost her leg after stepping on a landmine. Mosha inspired Marc and Mike to create Elephant Parade. 

The name of my elephant Matriarch is for mothers and female strength, the eldest female in a family group of elephants is known as the matriarch. So I named her for little Mosha, all female elephants and strong women everywhere.

One of the most important actions of Asian elephant conservation is to preserve their natural habitat, so I wanted to incorporate that idea. I therefore drew trees rising out of the city. I decided to paint the trees gold to symbolise the hope, energy, support and money coming from the city, with the leaves green to show the aim to preserve the natural habitat of Thailand. I chose to use a rich colour palette so depicted the city at night with a bright sunset. The hearts are simply a symbol of love for elephants.

Bangkok is visually a city of contrasts, magnificent ancient stone temples and soaring modern skyscrapers. It attracts nearly 16 million visitors a year. It's very special that the capital city is supporting the parade to help the endangered Asian elephant, which is also Thailand's' national symbol.

You can vote for Matriarch in the Artbox contest to become part of the Bangkok Parade HERE

Elephants on the move

The Intu National Tour is on the move.The Elephant Parade's latest herd of decorated elephants began their long journey at Intu Watford in July and will be on the road around the UK until July 2014. They are currently at the Intu Gateshead Metrocentre until 13th October.

It's many months since I started the design process for my elephant 'The Butterfly Effect' which began back in February this year.When I was asked to come up with a design on the theme of Joy, butterflies with their huge array of colours and the feeling of freedom they symbolise, seemed a perfect choice.
The Elephant Parade organisation feel it is important whilst raising funds, to also raise awareness of Asian elephant conservation. I hope that by using nature in my elephant designs to highlight the beauty that exists in the natural world, this encourages the public to think about how important it is to preserve the natural habitat of the elephant.

Design sketch for 'The butterfly effect'

When I decided to cover my elephant in an explosion of colourful butterflies I also wanted to put across the message that we can all do our bit for conservation no matter how small our contribution. I have always been a great believer in the power of the individual as part of bigger effort and after all 1000 people giving a £1 contribution is worth the same as one £1000 contribution!
The expression 'the butterfly effect' came to mind and although I can't claim to know anything about the chaos theory, this phrase has come to represent the idea that a small gesture ... like the tiny flap of a butterfly's wing on one side of the world, can have a knock on effect that is significantly bigger on the far side of the world as it gathers momentum.

I deliberately chose butterflies from all over the planet to represent the international importance of animal conservation. Choices we make in the west have a direct impact on the Asian economy which can lead to changes in the natural habitat of the Asian elephant.
I visited the butterfly farm at Studley Grange to take photographs for inspiration. In total there are 19 butterflies on my elephant, plus a butterfly orchid!

Orange Lacewing at Studley Grange

Marpesia from South America

It has been very rewarding to see people enjoying the elephant parade tour as it travels the UK and helps raise funds and awareness in the fight to save the endangered Asian elephant.

Elephant Parade Tour Preview

Being an artist is usually a solitary pursuit, but with the chance to meet some fellow artists, and see the public enjoying our work, I put down my brushes yesterday to go along to the Elephant Parade Tour preview at Kings Cross Station in London. The Intu Elephant Parade Tour will be launched at IntuWatford shopping centre on Monday 22nd July, but this was a chance for everyone to get a sneak preview of 13 of the herd.

It was lovely to see the elephants catching the eye of travellers passing through Kings Cross on a busy Tuesday. My elephant 'The Butterfly Effect' was waiting patiently by platform 9, with her 'trunk' all packed waiting for the Watford express!

 

The elephant tour will visit 14 Intu venues over a period of 375 days, with a herd of 100 new elephants in total. Each venue will host a family of elephants from the herd, which will include some designed and painted by local young people who have won school competitions to make their designs become a reality. All school designs will be on view digitally on a big screen in the venues.

 

True to being billed 'the people's parade' anyone wanting the chance to see their own design displayed digitally on the tour, can participate via the Elephant tour website.

 

 

Two young people taking the chance for a photo opportunity

 before 'The Butterfly Effect' catches the train!

 

The UK Elephant Parade Tour aims to raises funds for The Asian Elephant Foundation, an international conservation charity whose aim is to raise greater global awareness of Asian elephant conservation and to support projects and organisations that are dedicated to improving the well-being and conservation of the Asian elephant.

The Elephant Parade concept has made it possible to generate funds for projects varying from elephant hospitals and restoration of vital corridors of land to lobbying governments and research. To date, many Asian elephants have been saved and cured, but there are still thousands more that need our support. Please visit The Asian Elephant Foundation website for more information on the work being done for Asian elephants.

 

 

Elephants attracting attention at the Kings Cross station preview.

The Elephant has landed!

I'm thrilled to have been commissioned to paint another elephant for the Elephant Parade .This year it's for their first ever UK Tour in partnership with Intu and supported by Elephant Communications

The Elephant Parade hope to reach over half the UK's population with their 'People's Parade', taking their herd of 100 elephants showing designs created by artists, young artists, designers and celebrities to 13 locations. The tour will be launched on the 17th July at a secret location, then starting on 21st July for 4 weeks at IntuWatford, will travel the country including venues at Glasgow, Manchester, Cardiff and Nottingham.

The ParadeTour will for the first time include an educational programme aimed at schools, and will be running competitions to find the best young artists creating their elephant designs. Whilst raising awareness about the plight of endangered Asian elephants, thousands of designs produced by young people, will be
enjoyed digitally on big screens at the tour venues with winning designs being recreated on elephants that will join the herds locally.

My design called 'The Butterfly Effect' is inspired by the chaos theory that states that a small change in one place can result in a larger impact somewhere else.
I hope it highlights the importance of each individual making an effort to help the cause of elephant
conservation, however small ...  because like the gentle flutter of a wing, even tiny events can cause ripples that have major impact and can lead to significant change.
The selections of butterflies are native to both Europe and Asia, indicating that elephant conservation is an issue which transcends national boundaries. On a purely visual level the colourful palette and beautiful butterflies are joyous and appeal to the child in us all.

I'll be posting regular updates of my progress on twitter at   ArtistJVC