Thursday, March 17, 2011

What She is doing, by Her.


 Last year I went to London Zoo and fed tigers. To be in the presence of tigers is to be granted an incredible gift. I have  a friend who travels a great deal, Wendy Cooling. I still remember listening to her as she spoke of a safari into the forests in India on elephant back. She was lucky enough to have been given the gift of watching a tiger in the wild. She told me that she cried, the creature was so beautiful. So very very beautiful. Even as she was telling me her eyes filled.
I wanted to do something for these animals that have walked through my dreams and when I was at the zoo I was told about 21st Century Tiger. All I could do was to give them a painting which they could use as they wished, to raise money and to raise awareness for their work. Below is the press release. The auction goes live next week.
Sign up to their facebook page to keep an eye on the auction and please spread the word. The painting comes with a hardback copy of the book signed by Caroline Pitcher and myself. This is a first edition hardback, rare in itself as the book is only in print in paperback now.
I think the reserve price is £500, and given that many of my illustrations are now £4000 this could be a chance to pick up a bargain.



Famous watercolour auctioned for tiger conservation

Acclaimed artist Jackie Morris is donating a watercolour to be auctioned on eBay in aid of 21st Century Tiger.

The original watercolour from the book Lord of the Forest written by Caroline Pitcher will be auctioned on eBay from 21 March 2011.

One hundred years ago there were 100,000 wild tigers.  Now there are less than 3200 tigers left in the wild.

In the last century Asia’s wild tiger range has shrunk to a mere 7 per cent of its original habitat, shockingly 40 per cent of that decline has happened in the past ten years.

Jackie Morris “Even though in my lifetime I may never ever see a tiger in the wild my world is a richer place for knowing that these wonderful creatures are there. 21st Century Tiger is a rare organisation working to protect the habitat of the tigers in harmony with the people who live alongside them, and also rare in that 100% of all money given to them goes towards their projects rather than being eaten up by admin costs. It is my hope that when I have grandchildren tigers will still walk through their dreams and through the forests of the world as living creatures and not something from history, creatures of myth”.

21st Century Tiger is a unique fundraising partnership between the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and Global Tiger Patrol that gives 100 per cent of all they raise to carefully chosen conservation projects throughout Asia.

21st Century Tiger currently funds the work of both international and local conservation organisations with a range of projects from education in China, ranger training in Thailand and anti-poaching, to monitoring of the tiger populations in Sumatra and Russia.

These important projects address the pressures the tiger faces in today’s world of trade, exploding human popu­lation and vanishing forests.

The auction will be held on eBay over ten days, ending on 30th March 2011. More information can be found at www.21stCenturyTiger.org.

 



ps. thanks cats, for letting me post this. How I love my small tigers.

8 comments:

Kat_RN said...

What a lovely thing to do!
Kat

Angel Simba said...

What a wonderful donation. We also just loved your You Tube site, and your reading of the Ice Bear.

Dougie Donk said...

I know I won't be able to afford this, but would it be possible to do a limited edition print run with a percentage going to the charity?

That way, the less well-off amongst us could contribute too :))

Windsongs and Wordhoards said...

Fantastic idea! It's a perfect painting and a perfect book for this... My biggest daughter Elora wants to sign up to adopt a wild Tiger for her 7th birthday - they're her favourite animal!

Dartford Warbler said...

What a generous and lovely way to help the tiger.

Griffin said...

To find out that there are so few of these fabulous creatures is heartbreaking. I've been on an elephant ride through a reserve in Nepal and longed to see a tiger, but didn't.

I was smitten with them when I saw the film 'Where the North Wind Blows' as a child. I thought them so magnificently beautiful I wanted to be one.

I really hope the tiger makes a comeback and that pictures of them are not all we are left with.

Tama-Chan, Benny, Vidock, Violette, Ollie, Heloise, Momo, Ryu said...

Tigers are among the most beautiful creatures to walk this earth. What a wonderful gesture for them!

The Ginger Darlings said...

I have also given the charity the rights to the image for the front cover so they may well do that. I do sell my prints for £450, which is still expensive, but would be happy to donate a percentage to the charity for this image. How much would depend on where the print went.
Hope the original raises a lot, but also awareness and smaller donations.