Too Cool for the Desert
Original meerkat painting by Chris Shopland
Acrylic on 39.5 × 47.5 inch gallery-wrapped heavy-duty found canvas
This abstract gold, red and green splattered canvas was free as part of a Facebook Marketplace lot from an artist who was closing their studio. As soon as I saw it, it made me think of the desert — and this little character seemed to appear from it!
The existing green splats already reminded me of cacti, which gave me the starting point for the painting. From there, I spent many days building, layering and bringing the scene to life, allowing the original marks and colours of the canvas to become part of the finished work.
This is part of my ongoing fascination with giving animals a little bit of human personality. Sometimes it’s just a pose, expression or attitude — adding that one little element that makes an animal feel almost like a character you might meet. This meerkat definitely knows he's too cool for the desert!
A playful, slightly surreal desert scene grown from the unexpected marks of a found canvas.
Too Cool for the Desert
Original meerkat painting by Chris Shopland
Acrylic on 39.5 × 47.5 inch gallery-wrapped heavy-duty found canvas
This abstract gold, red and green splattered canvas was free as part of a Facebook Marketplace lot from an artist who was closing their studio. As soon as I saw it, it made me think of the desert — and this little character seemed to appear from it!
The existing green splats already reminded me of cacti, which gave me the starting point for the painting. From there, I spent many days building, layering and bringing the scene to life, allowing the original marks and colours of the canvas to become part of the finished work.
This is part of my ongoing fascination with giving animals a little bit of human personality. Sometimes it’s just a pose, expression or attitude — adding that one little element that makes an animal feel almost like a character you might meet. This meerkat definitely knows he's too cool for the desert!
A playful, slightly surreal desert scene grown from the unexpected marks of a found canvas.
