LONDON—It may look like a photograph at first glance, because not one detail has been missed. But in fact, each fine hair of this gorilla has been painstakingly drawn by wildlife artist Chris Wright, who works on his drawings with a very sharp pencil.
“When I’m drawing, I feel great because I feel that nothing else is clouding my mind,” he explains. “I sit there, and get all the details right—it doesn’t mean I’m not relaxed. I know that someone’s going to appreciate it and I like the fact that this is something people will enjoy.”
Wright is one of the 40 top contemporary animal artists who will be exhibiting at The Animal Art Fair (TAAF) this month.
TAAF has grown exponentially over the past three years. It was started when co-founders Jamie Polk and Barnaby Parker saw many of their artist friends suffering from paying high commission rates to galleries, and wanted to create a new opportunity for artists to interact directly with the buyer.
It has become a huge success. Artists pay a one-off fee for their stand, and 90 per cent of all sales will come directly to the artist. This is a big saving compared to the usual 40-50 per cent commission paid in most galleries. Ten per cent goes towards TAAF’s charitable partner, The Angus Lawson Memorial Trust.
“I see it as the way the art market will be trending the next few years,” predicts Polk, co-founder and director of TAAF. Prices of the artworks at the fair start from £100 each for prints, and originals range from £250 to £12,000.
As part of your visit it is guaranteed that you will come across some leopards and giraffes as well as some quite moody looking ostriches, by wildlife artist Dominique Salm.
“The way they peer at you is just hysterical,” she says. “I don’t think anyone’s really captured that before, so I wanted to capture that character.”
