Wild spirits - Australian Sealions
Pastel on Pastelmat paper
ORIGINAL Image size 70x 51cm
In the last 40 or so years I have spent a lot of time sharing a wilderness area with these totally wild and magnificent creatures. They are Australian sealions and to my mind they are the most beautiful sealion species on the planet. Tragically they are also the rarest.... and with a population of around 6500 left in the entire country there is a real fear that we may lose them entirely as their number continue to spiral downward. The reasons for that are many but when you drill down the inescapable fact is that humans are playing a huge part in their decline. These intelligent, gentle and friendly beings need your help if they are to recover.
The Australian Marine Conservation Society is doing a heroic job trying to reverse the decline but until humans recognise and act on the sure and certain knowledge that it is nature which gives US life and not the other way around...... well I am not hopeful. By joining efforts with AMCS you will surely make a positive contribution to ensuring your children may share some of the ineffable joy I have known in my wilderness experiences with Aussie sealions. I hope my pastel painting conveys the wonder I feel in their presence. https://www.marineconservation.org.au/australian-sea-lions/