About the piece:
Steve lives and works in Totnes, Devon. He originally trained to be an art teacher at Nottingham Trent University but after graduating forged an award-winning career in design and advertising. He has always had a love of animals and became concerned about the growing loss of our planet’s biodiversity. In recent years he has focused on realistic paintings of endangered species in oils, specifically head and shoulders, gazing out at the viewer, sometimes imploring, sometimes challenging. His paintings are larger than life. Size matters as they are meant to grab attention and focus on larger than life issues about how we conserve our natural environment of which we are an integral part. He tries to convey a sense of emotion using the play of light and the impact of the creature’s expression conveyed through its eyes. The uniform size of the canvases is a levelling devise for the animal’s physical size. Golden snub-nosed monkey, which are depicted in this illustration, are found in the mountain ranges of southwestern China. They are endangered, primarily due to habitat loss and fragmentation. Deforestation is harming this tree-dwelling species, and it risks losing its forest home and food sources to agricultural expansion. Illegal hunting also poses a massive threat, as the monkeys are poached for their fur, meat and traditional medicine.

At least 50% of the proceeds from this sale will support the charitable work of David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF) and our ground-based conservation partners across Africa and Asia.