Impression courtesy of David Ruggeri
A strong combine of acrylic and spray paint on canvas, St. Louisan David Ruggeri’s Rhino strongly reflects not only his inspiration by graffiti but also his ethos as a conservationist.
“I’m a firm believer in conserving our sources, protecting our ecosystem and shielding our wildlife,” relates Ruggeri, whose web page notes he holds a Ph.D., an MBA and a master’s diploma. “There are so quite a few species of animals that are endangered or extinct thanks to overhunting, reduction of habitat and other contributing elements that can effortlessly be averted.”
He phone calls the 36- by 24-inch portray proven right here, whose creation dates from 2019-20, “one of 5 paintings in my Endangered Species series. Others in the sequence involve Shark, Bison, Monarch and Leopard.”
Like individuals other canvases, Rhino features a visually explosive palette and visually arresting patterns, as nicely as textural brushwork that borders on the tactile at a glance, a person can virtually really feel the coarse thickness of the creature’s skin.
“When painting Rhino, I thought about how incredibly few stay in the wild due to poaching and reduction of habitats,” Ruggeri states. “Western black and white rhinos have just lately grow to be extinct, and various other species are critically endangered because of to them staying beneficial targets for the illegal trade of their horns.
“This painting took me more than just one calendar year to get it to in which I appreciated it. I attempted to showcase the magnificence and energy of these animals when bringing some focus to how human beings have negatively impacted and threatened their existence.”