Endangered species and Misc. Environmental Art has always been a way for mankind to connect with nature, an attempt to understand its mystery and beauty, to borrow its power. Artist’s earliest primal symbols show a desire to acknowledge the critical role animals played in human survival. I paint endangered species to call attention to this ancient connection. With the loss of each species, we become less human. Some of the endangered species are oil on canvas, but most of them are created using traditional gilding techniques originating in ancient Egypt.
A wooden panel is covered with several layers of gesso (a mixture of chalk and animal hyde glue) and then painted with bole (a naturally occurring clay mixed with glue) before sheets of gold leaf are applied and burnished with an agate stone to produce a reflective surface. To create the relief or “pastiglia”, warm gesso is carefully ladled on top of the gessoed wood before the bole layer. Steel punches may be used to imprint the gilded surface or the gold may be covered with tempera paint and scratched through to expose the brilliance below, a technique called “sgraffito”.
On Fire Opus III, 12x9 inch, oil with gold leaf on gessoed wood, 2024
On Fire Opus V, 14x11 inch, oil with gold leaf on gessoed wood, 2024
On Fire Opus IV, 12x9 inch, oil on paper, 2024
On Fire Opus VI, 24x16 inch, oil with gold leaf on gessoed wood, 2025
Stop PFAS, 12x9 inch, oil on paper, 2024
Bon Appetit 13x12x4 inch, gold leaf, oil, plexiglass, fishing weights, monofilament and credit cards, 2024
Bon Appetit, side view
Don't Weight Opus, side view
Don't Weight Opus, 13x11x2.5 inch, gold leaf, bole, gessoed wood, oil paint, monofilament, fishing weights and antique frame fragments, 2024
American Buffalo, 23x18x4 inch, gold leaf and tempera on gessoed wood, 1996
Constellation Tableau, 5x24x3 ½ inch, gold leaf and tempera on gessoed wood, 2014
Endangered Species Crayfish, 25x9 inch, gold leaf and oil on gessoed panel in antique frame, 2004
Endangered Species Okapi, 44x28 inch, oil on linen, 2010
Endangered Species Crocodile, 17x11 inch, gold leaf and oil on gessoed panel, 2006
Panda Zebra, 23x18x4 inch, gold leaf and tempera on gessoed wood, 1996
Endangered Species Fijian Banded Iguana, 17x15 inch, gold leaf and multi colored bole on panel, 2003
Endangered Species Frog, 15x13 inch, gold leaf and tempera on gessoed panel, 1998
Endangered Species Grizzly Bear, 17x15 inch, gold leaf and tempera on gessoed panel, 1998
Zebrafly Opus III, 32x32 inch, oil with gold and copper leaf on linen, 2018
Endangered Species Marvelous Spatuletail, 20x8 inch, in mahogany frame gold leaf on gessoed wood, 2000
Endangered Species Red Crown Cranes, 24x30 inch, gold leaf and tempera on gessoed panel, 2004. Collection of the Corcoran Gallery.
Endangered Species Sea Horse, 15x13 inch, gold leaf and tempera on gessoed panel, 2000. Collection of the Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William and Mary.
Endangered Species Sea Turtle, 15x13 inch, gold leaf and tempera on gessoed panel, 1998
Pelican Panda Penguin Panther, 10x10 inch, gold leaf and graphite on gessoed panel, 2010
Endangered Species Spotted Owl, 15x13 inch, gold leaf and tempera on gessoed panel, 1998
Endangered Species Wallace Bee, 13x15 inch, gold leaf and tempera on gessoed wood, 2003
Fishbone Elephant in frame, 12x14 inch, gesso on panel, 2018
Fishbone Giraffe, 8x10x2 inch, gold leaf on gessoed wood, 2018
Fishbone Zebra, 8x10x2 inch, gold leaf and watercolor on gessoed wood
On the Edge, 32x32 inch, oil on linen, 2014
Owl Oryx Ocelot, 42x8 inch, gold leaf and graphite on gilded oak and gessoed wood, 2003
Running Zebra, 32x36 inch, oil on linen, 2017
Zebra on Fire, 36x48 inch, gold and copper leaf on linen, 2017
Zebrafly Opus I, 32x32 inch, oil with copper leaf on linen, 2016
Zebrafly Opus II, 16x16 inch, oil with gold leaf on linen, 2018
ANWR, 48x32 inch, oil with gold and copper leaf on panel, 2003
Beyond the Pale (15/14), 15x14 inch, oil with gold and copper leaf on linen, 2008
Clean Air Opus II, 36x48 inch, oil with gold leaf and copper on canvas, 1999
Climate Change Cube Opus I, 6x6x6 inch, gold leaf glass and gesso on wood, 2013
Climate Change Cube Opus II, 7x6x6 inch, gold leaf graphite watercolor and metal on gessoed wood, 2013
Cloud Weave, 15x30 inch, oil with gold leaf on linen, 2003
Cosmic Dust Opus II, 16x18 inch, oil with gold and copper leaf on linen, 2016
Cosmic Wind, 40x49 inch, oil with gold and copper leaf on linen, 2010
Deepwater, 34x30 inch, oil with gold leaf on linen, 2010
Pollution, 50x40 inch, oil with gold leaf on linen, 1990
Greenhouse Opus I, 10x10x6 inch, gold leaf and watercolor on gessoed wood, 2009
Sign of the Times Opus I, 13x7x9 inch, oil with gold leaf on gessoed panel, 2017
Sign of the Times, Opus II, 8x8x7 inch, gold leaf and oil on gessoed panel, 2018
Sign of the times Opus III, 8x8x7 inch, gold leaf and oil on gessoed wood, 2018
Test Screen, 12x20x7 inch, gold leaf with watercolor on gessoed wood, 2010
Tree Geometry, 24x24 inch, oil with gold leaf on gessoed panel, 2009
Up in Smoke, 10x14 inch, oil on linen, 2017
Up in Smoke, 12x30 inch, oil on linen, 2017
Web of Life Opus II, 12x12 inch, gold leaf and tempera on gessoed panel, 2013