BAS considers it an important aspect of his work to be able to support various wildlife conservation and environmental concerns. This is done primarily through the use of his artwork with revenue from donated artworks directly benefiting related Conservation programs. Such organizations that The Art of BAS has assisted include: The Rainforest Foundation; Wildlife and Conservation Society; EIA, Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund; Tiger Patrol; Africat, amongst others.

The Al Wabra Project

"Emblem of Qatar", Oil Painting on Linen Canvas, 48" x 32"

The Art of BAS is working with Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation, Qatar, with the aim of aiding the conservation of endangered species. The two related paintings on view in the Original Paintings and Fine Art Canvas Limited Edition sections resulted from a research trip that BAS experienced at Al Wabra. These two paintings are published as Fine Art Canvas Limited Editions , the sales proceeds from all the Qatar artwork will help support the remarkable preservation work undertaken at Al Wabra.

"Emblem of Qatar" depicts an Arabian Oryx walking in front of a patterned backdrop of shifting sands found in the desert of Qatar. The Arabian Oryx is an endangered species which is important to the nation of Qatar and the whole Arabian Peninsula. There are programs being undertaken in Qatar to re-introduce these magnificent creatures into the wild, the work of organizations such as Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation will enhance the future prospects of the Arabian Oryx.

To Purchase a Fine Art Canvas Limited Edition of "Emblem of Qatar" please go to the Fine Art Canvas Limited Editions  section within the Gallery.

"Rheem Gazelle of Zikrit", Oil Painting on Linen Canvas, 40" x 28"

"Rheem Gazelle of Zikrit" depicts a bachelor group of Rheem Gazelle in the unique landscape of Zikrit, Qatar. Rheem Gazelle are also an endangered species and there has been a re-introduction program for the Rheem Gazelle in the Zikrit area of Qatar. Much protection and a greater awareness of the Rheem's preservation needs will hopefully ensure the future of these beautiful gazelle which are endemic to the Arabian Peninsula. Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation has a successful breading program for the Rheem Gazelle, the dedication and expertise of Al Wabra is a major factor in raising the hopes of brighter prospects for this endangered species. (http://awwp.alwabra.com)

To Purchase a Fine Art Canvas Limited Edition of "Rheem Gazelle of Zikrit" please go to the Fine Art Canvas Limited Editions section within the Gallery.

Dr. Sven Hammer, BAS, Dr. Amrita Deb, Ms. Catrin Hammer (left to right) holding Limited Edition reproductions of "Rheem Gazelle of Zikrit" and "Emblem of Qatar.

Wildlife Conservation Art

The Echo Project

The Art of BAS is working with The Elephant Trust (Amboseli Trust for Elephants, www.elephanttrust.org ), having spent time with their researchers in Amboseli National Park, Kenya. Cynthia Moss is the world's foremost elephant expert and she works tirelessly in the field with her equally dedicated team. Echo is a well know matriarch of one of the Amboseli herds, she has become famous through several BBC documentaries over the years. Now in her senior years, Echo has been taken to heart by many and has given the researchers the most intimate portrayal of elephant behavior, welcoming them into the life of her herd.

Funds raised through the sales of BAS' Echo painting, "Echo of Amboseli", and Fine Art Canvas Limited Edition will directly aid The Elephant Trust (Amboseli Trust for Elephants) and their invaluable work amongst African elephants in particular. The African elephant, as with her Asian cousins, are experiencing unprecedented pressures from mankind and are suffering in many ways. Let's hope that the future is bright for these magnificent creatures, our largest land mammal, that has such a big hearted and gentle nature. The Echo painting and Fine Art Canvas Limited Editions are now available and we trust that the collectors support will greatly assist the work of The Elephant Trust (Amboseli Trust for Elephants).

There are new Conservation Projects soon to be undertaken by The Art of BAS, please review the Conservation Projects section to read about them and join us in whatever way you are able to in supporting the plight of wildlife and nature around this fragile globe.

To Purchase a Fine Art Canvas Limited Edition of "Echo of Amboseli" please go to the Fine Art Canvas  Limited Editions section within the Gallery.

Wildlife Conservation Art

This detail from "Echo of Amboseli" shows Echo with her two youngest offspring, Emily Kate on her left side and little Espirit on her right side. Echo is in her mid-sixties and is unlikely to have another calf, she has been very productive over the years and is still the undisputed matriarch of the herd. In the New Year Animal Planet will screen a series titled "The Herd" which is about Echo and the other elephants in Amboseli, Kenya.

Keep a track of the essential conservation work being carried out by The Elephant Trust (Amboseli Trust for Elephants) with Cynthia Moss heading up the dedicated team. Sign onto the website at www.elephanttrust.org   to be more involved with the struggles and joys experienced by those who are on the front line of elephant conservation.

To Purchase a Fine Art Canvas Limited Edition of "Echo of Amboseli" please go to the Fine Art Canvas Limited Editions section within the Gallery.

Wildlife Conservation Art

The Alladale Project

"Monarch of Glen Alladale", Oil Painting on Canvas, 55" x 39"

BAS recently completed an oil painting entitled "Monarch of Glen Alladale" which depicts a regal red deer stag in the grand setting of Glen Alladale. This painting is published as a Fine Art Canvas Limited Edition, from which the proceeds will assist the conservation work being carried out at the Alladale Wilderness Lodge & Reserve in the Scottish Highlands. Alladale is the visionary work of Paul Lister, founder of the European Nature Trust, whose passion for conservation is pioneering such valuable work in Scotland and elsewhere in Europe.

The BBC filmed a six part series entitled "The Real Monarch of the Glen" screened on BBC2.

To Purchase a Fine Art Canvas Limited Edition of "Monarch of Glen Alladale" please go to the Fine Art Canvas Limited Editions   section within the Gallery.

www.alladale.com; www.mikebirkhead.com

"Monarch of Glen Alladale" (detail above) portrays a statuesque red stag standing proud in the u-shaped valley of Glen Alladale, Scotland. Alladale Wilderness Lodge & Reserve is an idyllic retreat with a difference, a process has begun to return this part of the Scottish Highlands to its original state. Centuries ago the Caledonian Forest covered the region as the largest forest in Europe. Since that time the native trees have been logged almost entirely and the over populated red deer haven't allowed any new trees to develop.

The painting is available as a Fine Art Canvas Limited Editions   which is being sold to raise funds in support of the visionary conservation work being undertaken at Alladale. It is hoped that the reintroduction of species will continue and the area will once again show the natural wilderness splendor of its glorious past.

To Purchase a Fine Art Canvas Limited Edition of "Monarch of Glen Alladale" please go to the Fine Art Canvas Limited Editions  section within the Gallery.

Wildlife Conservation Art

Two Brothers - Ancient Rites, Oil Painting on Linen, 26" X 40", also available as a Fine Art Canvas Limited Edition and Fine Art Paper Limited Edition. The painting depicts a scene from Ta Phrom Temple, Angkor Wat, Cambodia. This setting was the main film location for the Universal Movies/Pathe film "Two Brothers", BAS visited the amazing Angkor Wat Temples to research for his movie associated painting. Nowadays the Temples have been reclaimed from the Cambodian jungle, however, until recently the jungle smothered the vast Temple area. Over the past many centuries the only visitors prior to the rediscovery of the Temples were unscrupulous treasure seekers who plundered the riches of the Siamese dynasty.

To Purchase a Fine Art Canvas Limited Edition of "Two Brothers - Ancient Rites" please go to the Fine Art Canvas Editions  section within the Gallery.

Wildlife Conservation Art

"The Promise of India" is the second painting from The Art of BAS Tiger Project, it is also available as a Fine Art Canvas Limited Edition. This is a scene from Panna Tiger Reserve, a unique area whose tiger population has recently been ravaged by poachers. This painting is available as a Fine Art Canvas Limited Edition.

To Purchase a Fine Art Canvas Limited Edition of "The Promise of India" please go to the  Fine Art Canvas Editions section within the Gallery.

Wildlife Conservation Art

BAS with Valmik Thapar, author and TV Presenter of "Land of the Tiger," and the Producer of the BBC TV series, Mike Birkhead with his wife Caroline - at a fundraising event for Global Tiger Patrol held at the Royal Geographical Society, London.
BAS went to Cambodia, South East Asia, for the first two weeks of 2004, researching for his tiger project at the film location of Two Brothers. Following that visit he also went to India for a two week research trip, spending time with Dr. Raghu Chundawat at Panna Tiger Reserve. Both of these research trips were integral to The Art of BAS Tiger Project, working towards raising funds for tiger conservation through the sale of BAS' resulting artwork.

Wildlife Conservation Art

Detail of foreground foliage and temple stonework from Two Brothers - Ancient Rites. The temples of Angkor Wat are an amazing relic of part of Asia's rich history and reveal the sophisticated and powerful era of times long since covered by jungle foliage. History gives us a glimpse of past civilisations, kingdoms established and kingdoms fallen, such is the temporary nature of mankind's rule.

This is a Bengal tiger that BAS photographed from Bandhavgarh National Park, Madhya Pradesh, during his recent research trip to India. The research trip was part of The Art of BAS Tiger Project with the main focus being time spent in the tiger reserves with Dr. Raghu Chundawat and Joanna Van Gruisen. The tiger is under enormous pressure from human impact, the most severe danger to its future existence is from the shameful poaching for body parts to be used in so-called medicine as a fictitious aphrodisiac and similar superstitious yet unfounded remedies. It is a tragic irony that the impotence of men can be such a potent threat to the magnificent tiger.

Wildlife Conservation Art

High above Ken River Raghu Chundawat and his research partner Joanna Van Gruisen survey the territory of Panna Tiger Reserve. They have been with Panna's tigers for over eight years, during which their intensive research has uncovered much about the lives of the resident tiger population. Panna is unique in India due to it's natural habitat being Tropical Dry Forest, therefore the tigers of this region are also unique since they inhabit an environment that differs from all other tiger habitat within India.

The scientific research work undertaken by Raghu and Joanna on behalf of the Bengal Tiger is internationally recognised and they are both highly regarded within the world of conservation. Spending time with such a dedicated team was a true privilege for BAS, they are on the front line of tiger conservation, wholeheartedly committing their time and energies to aiding the tiger. In recent times this commitment has even endangered their own lives as they have placed themselves between the tiger and the organised crime behind the poaching industry, not forgetting corrupt officials.

BAS is able to create works of art that can be used to benefit such environmental concerns as the preservation of the Bengal Tiger. This is done with the alliance of those who are experts in the field and have a reputation of high professional research together with dependability in managing the use of funds. It's the artist's pleasure and responsibility to play his role in whatever way possible in order to help to conserve the wonders of the natural world. It's the pleasure and responsibility of us all to do our utmost for future generations and to fight the corner for any suffering cause.

Wildlife Conservation Art

BAS on elephant back in search of the elusive Bengal Tiger. It was frustrating trying to locate tigers in the wild, that frustration soon turned to sorrow as we realised that the tigers we were seeking had been first found by a raiding team of well organised poachers. What began as an exciting journey on elephant back became a desperate search for survivors as the present day onslaught by poachers continues.

Sightings of the endangered Bengal Tiger are rarer and more fleeting than ever. Sadly, due to increased poaching and loss of habitat this magnificent animal is facing it's greatest struggle yet for survival in the wild. The tigers future depends primarily on the Indian Government, if the authorities truly desire to protect their nations emblem to the world then they have the power to do so, it's as simple yet precarious as that!

BAS having fun with boisterous young elephants! One of the perks of the job is the interaction that BAS is able to have with many wonderful creatures around the world. Sometimes the interaction is unexpected and potentially lethal but most of the time such close encounters are a pure delight and leave the artist with a richer tapestry of the natural world.

Raghu and Joanna with Tom McKarthy and Norma of the Snow Leopard Trust, enjoying the research within Panna Tiger Reserve. Having been together in the snow covered mountains of the snow leopard, Raghu was pleased to be able to show Tom the highlights of Panna but unfortunately no tigers were sighted. This was the time when we realised that something drastic had happened to the tigers of Panna. While Raghu was away in Delhi for one week, poachers had entered the Reserve and killed most of the 32 resident tigers, leaving Raghu and Joanna heart broken and India's tigers all the more endangered.