Baraza

Category: elephants | Date: Mar 03 2009 | By: baraza

I just received this extraordinary story from someone who describes it as ‘disgusting, revolting’

What do you think?

MELISSA SANTOS; MELISSA.SANTOS@THENEWSTRIBUNE.COM

Published: 02/16/09  12:09 am   |   Updated: 02/16/09   7:31 am

Madeline Jones has painted on all sorts of surfaces. But the Orting artist’s favorite canvases are the ears of African elephants.

Jones, 66, has spent the past 12 years painting elephant ears for hunters who bring them back from Africa.

Each measures about 5 feet tall by 31/2 feet wide and sells for several thousand dollars when she’s done – even in tough economic times, like now.

“I have a nice niche,” she said. “Having a specialty allows me to survive.”

Jones is a fixture in the Orting Valley, having helped design the community’s Daffodil Festival float for 18 years. A local resident for more than 50 years, she is the wife of former Mayor Dale Jones.

Painting elephant ears allows her to tap into her love of Africa on a daily basis.

In her studio on her longtime family property, portraits of African tribesmen line the walls. Impala fur rugs adorn the floors. And a half-dozen painted elephant ears complete the decoration.

On an easel near a window rests her current project: an elephant ear she’s decorating with a map of Africa. The map of the continent is one of her most requested designs, she said.

She embellishes the ear with illustrations of Africa’s five most popular big-game hunting animals – the leopard, the cape buffalo, the lion, the rhinoceros and the elephant.

She said she likes working with the elephant ears because each is unique.

“You don’t have the confines of a rectangle,” Jones said. “Even if someone wants the same design, it has to be different because the ear is different. There’s never going to be another ear like that one.”

All the ears she paints are from legally hunted pachyderms, she said. When hunters send her an ear they’d like her to adorn, they include a copy of the permit proving they had permission to hunt the animal.

Though commercial trading of ivory has been banned since 1989, U.S. hunters are allowed to import elephant trophies from countries including South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Tanzania.

The countries typically use fees they collect from hunters to help pay for conservation efforts. They also use hunting to control the animal population and limit conflicts between humans and elephants, which occur partly as a result of human encroachment on the animals’ natural habitat.

Though some animal rights groups, such People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, oppose the practice, Jones said conservation hunting provides valuable income for local governments in Africa, as well as food for villagers. Tourists who go on hunting safaris often spend tens of thousands of dollars to hunt a single animal.

“It’s only done where there are too many,” Jones said. “Everything that isn’t needed goes right back to the villages. Nothing is wasted.”

Lisa Wathne, a PETA spokeswoman, said the issue is more controversial than hunters would like to think.

“Most people actually assume that it’s illegal to hunt elephants and are appalled when they find out it’s not,” Wathne said. “Really, ‘conservation hunting’ is a misleading term for trophy hunting.”

The ears themselves don’t carry any inherent value like ivory does, Jones said. Hunters typically want them for personal reasons, such as to display in a trophy room or office.

“The value is added by the artist,” she said.

Hunters typically have the elephant skinned in Africa and send the ear to a tannery before mailing it to Jones. People will send her elephant ears from all over the world.

They typically arrive at Jones’ doorstep folded in a box. She sends them to a taxidermist, who stretches them and mounts them on marine plywood. When Jones gets them back about six weeks later, they’re ready to paint.

The ear Jones is working on now is rough, with thick hairs protruding from the surface. That’s because this piece of skin was cut from an elephant’s outer ear, Jones said. She also works with skin from elephants’ inner ears, which feels like smooth leather.

The first ear Jones painted came from a friend who lives in Seattle. About 12 years ago, he asked the artist if she would paint an ear for him.

Since then, she’s painted about six to 10 a year for different clients.

Her designs are based on photographs she took during a two-month trip to Africa a decade ago.

The experience changed her life, she said. She spent most of her time in Kenya and Tanzania, getting to know members of the Masai tribe.

“Ever since I was young I had an interest in Africa,” said Jones, who started painting at 16. “I thought, ‘I have to be there to see what the real thing is.’ You can’t paint things if you haven’t experienced them.”

Buzzi Cook, a taxidermist who mounts the ears on plywood for Jones, said her passion shows in her paintings.

“She does very fine detail work,” said Cook, who owns Olympic Taxidermy Studio Inc. in North Bend. “Everybody that’s had work done by her that I’ve talked to is totally impressed.”

Cook said poaching and illegal hunting of elephants in Africa has become virtually impossible due to increased regulations. Huge amounts of paperwork are required to export an elephant ear from an African country and get it into the United States, he said.

“It’s very controlled,” Cook said. “It’s not like you can go out and kill 20 to 30 elephants and come home.”

Recently, Jones has begun creating replicas of her elephant ear paintings on canvas. The replicas are about one-fifth the cost of a real painted ear, she said, and are growing in popularity.

She said she’s just happy she’s become successful doing what she loves.

“Some people don’t paint anything but seascapes,” Jones said. “This is my passion.”

Tags: Africa, art, conservation, elephant, hunting, Ivory, Madeline Jones

3 responses so far

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Dec 12 2008 | By: baraza

Hi Everyon, I’m reposting this to give you the links to the individual sketches.

As mentioned earlier, DAvid Derrick donated some original pieces of art to WildlifeDirect to help raise funds during this difficult time. We have uploaded some of these on auction on Ebay. All of these sketches were done in the field from life in Kenya  by David G. Derrick Jr., an artist in the Los Angeles area. David works as a fine artist painting and sculpting animals. David is a member of Artists for Conservation.

David also works as an artist in the animation Industry, primarily at DreamWorks Feature Animation. He is also a published author/illustrator. Prior to his career as an artist David studied fine art at the University of Utah and furthered his education at California Institute of the Arts (CALARTS). As a student his films were very successful garnering many awards including a student Emmy Award. To see more of David’s work visit http://www.dgderrick.com/ Please help David to help 
WildlifeDirect Inc 

The sketches are all original and signed by the artist. They are  worth considerably more than the reserve price.

Click here to bid on Elephant Brothers

To bid on this marabou stork  go here

To bid on the two hornbills go here

More wonderful paintings are coming later….simply search for David Derrick on Ebay USA to see the list of all of them.

Tags: art, David Derrick, Kenya, marabou stork, wildlifedirect

3 responses so far

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Dec 09 2008 | By: baraza

Dear Friends,

We are so pleased to be  the recipients of donations of original art works by David Derrick to help raise funds for WildlifeDirect. 

Seven fantastic sketches and paintings of wildlife will be auctioned on Ebay and all proceeds will benefit wildlife through WildlifeDirect. This is your opportunity to become a proud owner of an original work of art - or to give an extra special gift to that  hmm…extra special person in your life….

These two hornbills were sketched in the field from life in the spectacular Samburu National Park in Kenya by David G. Derrick Jr., an artist in the Los Angeles area. David works as a fine artist painting and sculpting animals. David is a member of Artists for Conservation and pledges has donated this picture to us at WildlifeDirect!

Make your bid now by clicking on Ebay now or search for Hornbills.  David also works as an artist in the animation Industry, primarily at DreamWorks Feature Animation. He is also a published author/illustrator. Prior to his career as an artist David studied fine art at the University of Utah and furthered his education at California Institute of the Arts (CALARTS). As a student his films were very successful garnering many awards including a student Emmy Award. To see more of David’s work visit http://www.dgderrick.com/ Please help David to help us. Make your bid here on Ebay now look for item number 320323983572

Here is a photo of David working in the field. Thank you David, you are a star!!! From all of us at WildlifeDirect

Thank you for helping us to share this amazing offer on facebook, myspace, bebo and wherever else you socialize online! 

Tags: art, conservation, David Derric, Ebay, Samburu Hornbills, wildlifedirect

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