Steve Morvell Art For Conservation

16/12/2024

The story of a brilliant ecologist with a plan to save the world by restoring the planet's forests. His original work was hijacked by corporations and politicians with disastrous effect. Now he's using science to fight back.

06/12/2024

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23/11/2024

'Decision time - African lioness' was created in remembrance of a time.... a moment.... when we unexpectedly came face to face on the South African savannah.
At times like this you quickly ask yourself some serious questions like 'Should I be here or should I leave and if I do what will she do?'.... 'Is she upset or calm.....and am I?
She has several potential choices a few of which would be very unpleasant for me.....but like most lions she is cautious and wisely does not rush into anything which involves humans. So we were locked in an impasse for some time while she figured out if she could safely turn her back on me. In the event she did .... quietly moveing off into the scrub and doing what nearly all wild animals (in my experience) will do when someone offers no threat..... she respected my quiet presence and left me alone. But I will never forget her majesty and the blessing I felt under that considered gaze... in that place .... and in that singular moment.
The final artwork of pastel on pastelmat took several weeks to do but I enjoyed every minute of the challenge to reconnect with her mighty presence.

04/10/2024

‘High rise and glass houses’
Soft pastel on pastelmat paper

It has always seemed to me that as artists we tend to create best that which is closest to our heart. While that may be true the real meaning and content of the artwork is frequently not obvious to the artist until we have time to sit back and contemplate it fully.
I work really hard using my art to educate and motivate people to care about our planet and the problems which we humans frequently create, with little thought for ecology and the ongoing implications of human actions.
The basic truth of existence is that whatever we do (or do not do) comes with attendant consequences…. the ripple effect if you like.
And as Sir David Attenborough has often said….’The idea of infinite growth in a finite system is the idea of a lunatic…. or an economist!’ Our planet is indeed a finite system and greedy capitalist consumption and ever-growing human populations are bringing terrible consequences ever closer to our species.
Now Mother Theresa famously said it is true that small things taken collectively do make a big difference. So, my small thing which is art, exists to bring greater awareness to other people in the hope they will act mindfully and in a positive, regenerative way.
I hardly need to tell you just how crazy it would be to keep goldfish in the illustrated conditions but it seems to me that is precisely what we do with humans in big city apartments and high-density housing. It truly is not sustainable. At this point I hasten to clarify that these fish were kept in the preserving jars for just two minutes and then were taken back to the people who cared for them properly.
I guess you will all see this pastel painting of mine in different ways and look forward to hearing what you may think about it.

20/09/2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSu3uXtAnlg

In this fine art TV show episode Steve Morvell is interviewed with Colour In Your Life about painting, drawing, art workshops, art tips and art techniques.ht...

16/09/2024

Some food for thought

21/08/2024

This is an older pastel artwork but one which I have great fondness for. I called it 'Glass houses' and it was a contemplation on the way we live and how we feel about our place on the planet. Maybe we all live in a gigantic 'glass house' if we embrace the reality of our interconnectedness with all of nature and we could well do to treat our spherical 'glass house' much more kindly. Funnily enough I got an angry email from a guy who accused me of cruelty by keeping my goldfish in such a small bowl :)....he was most apologetic when I assured him that after 'Goldie' was done with his 2 minute photo shoot he was placed carefully back into his outdoor pond with all his friends.

11/06/2024

'Homeward bound – Africa cheetah'

South Africa and after a long day out touring the countryside in the quest for wildlife a person gets tired. And a cheetah is no exception. Like we humans, cheetahs don’t function very effectively in the dark.

Very late afternoon in Northern Kruger we came across this gorgeous creature walking down the narrow track in front of our vehicle. The light was fading fast and the cheetah had to get home while it could still see, thus avoiding the night hunters who would already be out searching for easy prey. For us it was also urgent that we return to the camp gate before we were locked out. As it happened, we did not make it in time and the big guard on the gate added our names to the ‘naughty’ list saying if we did it again, we would be ejected from Kruger. Even though I loudly blamed the cheetah he gave no credence to our very true story of a cheetah preventing us from getting past
This elegant spotted beast walked deliberately and easily down the very middle of the track for a seemingly endless amount of time and short of physically barging him off to the side we simply had no choice but to follow quietly and respectfully in his paw prints until he condescended to move into the scrub.

When you understand some things about a cheetah’s eyesight it makes it easier to understand why he was walking so deliberately and purposefully on open ground. Among many other adaptations, cheetahs have more cone photoreceptor cells in their retina for seeing better in daylight but fewer rod photoreceptors for night vision, compared with other cats. This puts them at significant risk of ambush predators like lion and leopard who both see very well at night.
Sure, a cheetah can run faster than any other mammal out there but if you hit a lethal thorn bush at 90kphin the dark you are going to get yourself blinded and no sensible cat wants that to happen either. So, the upshot is the cheetah needs to be home in bed before it gets too dark.

For me to travel so closely along with the cheetah was a once in a lifetime blessing and to understand its behaviour even morse so. And to add to the story we most certainly were never again late back to camp.
www.stevemorvell.com

08/04/2024

If you fancy getting some of my artwork at bargain basement prices while giving real assistance to precious wildlife rescue shelters then this is your BIG chance!!! Click on the link and hop on over to do yourself and nature some real good 🙂

https://app.galabid.com/wildlifeauction/items/0bdd70d8-f481-49b9-b930-16a0bb58563f?backPath=%2Fwildlifeauction%2Fcategories&from=0bdd70d8-f481-49b9-b930-16a0bb58563f&categoryId=d381e146-8bbe-411c-bd71-09ada1c56311&fbclid=IwAR2hdAznN6aDm-WWlu8fu5bPWRFcRZorj7jFwdljmmBxoxpxhDxWFwW6MB0_aem_AcxtI0tp_nKOSLzp_UB5YMbdTSVo2Pbd8cwPlscDBx6UcIPkoWI7IovlvOfQtHzAZgqs-lcGA95FV0xqLI_PQ7vh

Nothing catches your eye?Please consider making a cash donation to Hamilton and Wildwood Wildlife Shelters instead.These funds help to support every animal that

20/02/2024

I implore all readers here who truly care about our planet and about the ecolocy that provides us with life to read this remarkable and passionate essay from a man who has both head and heart in his study of the living world. His advocacy for the planet is wonderful and a true and welcome inspiration to us all. https://www.australianwildlife.org/to-the-future-an-ecology-of-love-hope-and-action/?srsltid=AfmBOoo4biVOVJULitMBm1cTdQdtertN-Fs761eNGOwsSXV497IMZx4c

Prof. John Woinarski argues that love drives our concern for nature and that instead of despair, we must find hope and build from it.

18/02/2024

Australia's wedgetailed eagle is not the world's biggest but the female does have a wingspan which is the widest at up to 9ft 4 inches. She is quite capable of pullinbg down female kangaroos and of course their joeys are easy prey. Wedgetail adults bond for life and often hunt in tandem on larger prey.

Once hunted mercilssly by farners they are now protected and frequently seen as useful partners in agriculture since they remove pests like cats , foxes and rabbits.

This particular female lived in the care of raptor legend and brilliant artist Martin Scuffins who is a close friend and who has a high profile as a raptor educator in the wider community. Her name was Brega and it was my great honour to meet her on several occasions.

In this pastel painting I have aimed at evoking the magical amd powerful presence of Brega along with her sublime beauty.

If you would like to find out more about Martin and the magic work he dioes you can find him through the links on my website at www.stevemorvell.com or
go direct to https://hawkandowl.com.au/