This artist’s animal paintings bridge a gap between photography and reality
British conservation artist Sophie Green’s hyper-real portraits invite the viewer to stand eye to eye with some of the world's most endangered animals.
STARE INTO THE EYES of 'The Watcher,' British artist Sophie Green’s portrait of an African wild dog, and you’ll see there’s something reflected. A triangular outline, of a distant mountain perhaps, or maybe a termite mound on the savanna. Something the animal is looking at, in any case, that draws and locks your own gaze. And by the time it does, you realise that the animal is actually now looking at you.
The effect is striking: a strangely intimate moment with one of the planet’s most beleaguered mammals emerging from the shadows. But it's not really an animal, of course.
“That’s always been my aim,” says Green.
