Endangered Species Day

These Four Species Are Running Out of Time. Here's What I'm Doing About It

People often ask me why I painted these animals. The answer has never been only because they're beautiful, even though they are. I painted them because they're disappearing. And I believe that if more people could see them, really see them, they’d care enough to do something about it.

Today, I am honouring Endangered Species Day. It's a global moment to pause and pay attention to the species we're losing, not in some distant future, but right now. And for me, it's a reminder of why I do what I do.

I want to introduce you to four species that are close to my heart, and to the limited edition prints I've created of each one. These aren't just artworks. They're an invitation to care, and with each purchase, a donation is gifted to the Bob Brown Foundation, a foundation that defends wild places, protects wildlife, and empowers people to act for nature.

The Black Cockatoo

This one is personal. I was lucky enough to complete an artist residency with the Bob Brown Foundation, one of Australia's most respected conservation organisations. I walked alongside people who are fighting every day to protect the forests these birds depend on. I joined a march to protect the trees. I saw firsthand what happens when habitat disappears.

I’ll never forget the time I came face to face with this black cockatoo. It was quiet, wild, and completely unbothered by me standing there trying to get the shot. I didn't have a tripod, so I used the nearest thing available… someone's head! The photo I got that day became the reference for this piece. There's something different about painting a subject you've met in the wild. You carry the weight of it.

Four out of five of Australia's black cockatoo species are now classified as threatened. They need old-growth trees with hollows large enough to nest in, trees that take over a hundred years to grow. When those trees are cleared, the cockatoos have nowhere to go.

This print is my response to that. It's a reminder that what we protect today determines what exists tomorrow.

The Tiger

There are fewer than 5,578 tigers left in the wild. A century ago, there were 100,000, which means we have lost 97% of them. Their forests have been carved up by roads, farms, and development. Poaching remains a constant threat. But here's what gives me hope: tiger numbers are actually rising in some regions, thanks to dedicated conservation work. It's proof that when people choose to act, things can change.

The Gorilla

Mountain gorillas were once considered one of the most endangered animals on the planet. Today, thanks to decades of community-led conservation, their numbers have grown past 1,000 for the first time. It's one of conservation's greatest success stories, and it happened because ordinary people refused to give up.

I first saw this gorilla through a photograph by Matt Stramyk. I wasn't looking for my next subject. But the look in its eyes stopped me completely; this stoic, almost human knowing. Every cell in my body said I had to draw it. Some pieces choose you.

This print is a reminder that protection works. That the story doesn't have to end in loss. And that sometimes, one look is enough to change everything.

The Whale Shark

The largest fish in the ocean, and one of the gentlest. Whale sharks are classified as endangered globally, threatened by fishing nets, boat strikes, and the slow degradation of the marine ecosystems they depend on. I'm drawn to them because they remind me that even the biggest creatures on earth are vulnerable, and that the ocean's health is everyone's responsibility.

It was in the Mexican waters where I swam with this whale shark I painted. An extra special encounter given the whale sharks were not ‘supposed’ to be there during that time. There's no way to prepare for the size of it; your whole body understands, before your brain catches up, that you are very small and this creature is very ancient. You just exist alongside it for a moment, and that moment rewires something in you.

That feeling is what I tried to put into this piece. Not fear. Not drama. Just the quiet enormity of sharing space with something worth protecting.

Why Limited Editions Matter

Every print I release is limited. That's deliberate. It mirrors the urgency of what's happening in the wild. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. When you buy one of these prints, you're not just putting art on your wall. You're contributing and joining a community of people who believe that art can be a force for good, and for every art piece purchased from me will see a donation going to these worthy charities and foundations helping to keep these animals on the planet.

On Endangered Species Day, and every other day, I want you to know that your choices matter. The things you support, the conversations you start, the art you bring into your home, it all adds up.

If one of these four species speaks to you, the prints are available now on my website. Give one of these species a home on your wall, and a voice in the world.

→ Shop the Endangered Species Collection

Art for purpose. Always.