Animal Stories

by Gregg Chadwick

 

Gregg Chadwick
Arctic Fox
30”x30” oil on linen 2020
Steph Yoon Collection, Irvine, California

When I was  in elementary school, I felt a great connection to the natural world and would often wander into the woods near our home to poke around in the creeks to watch tadpoles scurry about and find newts hidden under rocks. On trips to the public library, I would come home with stacks of books on animal life. There was so much to discover and I was determined to learn how to draw animals to learn more about them. I would take a sketchbook and drawing pencils to the zoo to try and capture the animals I encountered on my visits. On trips to the National Gallery in Washington DC, it was the animals in paintings by Delacroix and Rubens that drew me in. Over the years, I have continued to create artworks about animals and recently have created a series of paintings that shed light on climate change, the beauty of the natural world, and our place with other species. My oil on linen artwork "Arctic Fox" is part of this ongoing series and brings the natural world directly into our vision. In art and myth the fox holds a special place. From Aesop's Fables, to Reynard the Fox, to the foxes gathering on New Year's Eve in Hiroshige's "New Year’s Eve Foxfires at the Changing Tree, Oji", this crafty animal symbolizes intelligence and cunning over brute strength.

We are richer because of the animals in our midst. I first became aware of the fragile nature of our planet as an eight year old. For Christmas one year, I asked my parents for the book “Wildlife in Danger” published by the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature). They are still an important organization providing information, plans, and hope for our endangered earth. Worried about the environment as a kid, I drew pictures of animals constantly. 

Somehow in my childhood stacks of books, I missed Gerald Durrell's marvelous "My Family and Other Animals."  Prompted by viewing the Masterpiece Theater production "The Durrells in Corfu"  based on Gerald Durrell's "My Family and Other Animals" and its two sequels, I recently read Gerald's childhood memories for the first time.  The television series deftly translates Gerald's vivid prose into light soaked images. Durrell's book is a witty look into five years of his childhood on the island of Corfu. While his older brother, author Lawrence Durrell, was just beginning to make his way in the literary world and his sister Margo was learning about love and life, Gerald was digging in the dirt looking for animal life. Gerald created a home grown menagerie at their rented villa and began a lifelong appreciation of nature and the environment. 

Gerald Durrell was born on January 7, 1925 in India to British parents. His father died in 1928, creating an unsettled life for Durrell's mother who moved the family around England before arriving in Corfu, where Gerald spent the formative years of his childhood. As detailed humorously in "My Family and Other Animals" a series of private tutors attempted to educate the young Gerald, but natural history and his growing collection of creatures from scorpions to owls provided his main intellectual interest. In his adult life after World War II, Gerald went on numerous wildlife expeditions and wrote 37 books including "My Family and Other Animals", "A Zoo in My Luggage", and "The Mockery Bird." With proceeds from his bestselling books, in 1959 Gerald founded the Jersey Zoological Park and then in 1963 the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust with the goal of breeding endangered species. Gerald received the Order of the British Empire in 1982 and was featured in the United Nations' Roll of Honor for Environmental Achievement in 1988. 

As we collectively celebrate our beautiful planet, we are reminded by the words and actions of forward thinking environmentalists, such as Gerald Durrell and Greta Thunberg, of the urgent need to Act On Climate now. We must recommit ourselves to promoting and enacting solutions that will safeguard our planet for generations to come.

Gregg Chadwick
Sea Bear, Panda's Thumb, Panthera Leo, Red Fox
Each 7”x5” oil on wood 2021