It has been just over 3 years now since I moved into my journey to help animals on many levels. Painting is my first and foremost skill that has changed my life. I watched a movie called “Sharkwater” and then I decided to paint about the shark finning industry and tried to submit it to an art showing that was juried but was denied. This set me off onto a whole new world that not only changed my way of thinking but I took on a vegan lifestyle.
I now paint the plight of the ocean with what I call my “Awareness Paintings”. I do my best to compile all the needed visuals to promote the story of the issue I want to relay to young and old. I have started with the slaughters of the ocean and now the plight of the ocean itself. The paintings have been shown at many art showings but I do not want to sell them. They are meant to be together and tell the story of what is happening from Whales, dolphins, seals, sea turtles and sharks. I am compiling a book of these paintings to further the animals lives of decline into book readers from schools to bookstores.
Now when I started my journey of researching animal slaughters I learned a lot to the point I needed to go public. I joined ARK II – Animal Rights Kollective of Toronto – Canada as their Director of International Campaigns since I built up a worldwide network just for animals. My first campaign with them was about shark cartilage against a company called Holista. We won this campaign 9 months after making it a nationwide win throughout Canada. I became very active on the streets with organizing demonstrations, protests, fundraisers for animal charities. I also became a board member for Oceanic Defense that was based out of California at the time to aid them in any grassroots action required. After that I founded my own organization called “Ocean Activists United – International Grassroots Action” which had 16 locations worldwide at one time. Then at the end of 2010 I was asked by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society if I wanted to be the Regional Coordinator for their Toronto Chapter which I gladly accepted.
Throughout the 3 years I only travel now for animal related issues from documenting, painting and/or organizing. This year alone I have gone to Japan where they slaughter dolphins in the town of Taiji to educate my readers and followers of the source of cetacean captivity and swim with dolphins. I witnessed 90 Dolphins slaughtered and 4 species of dolphins the time I spent there in Japan. Just a month ago I helped organize an Anti-captivity Mass Gathering in Miami – Florida where we did it at a location called Seaquarium that houses a very lonely female Orca named Lolita. The event was for worldwide captivity from zoos to aquariums with the focus on one establishiment while we had 5 other cities worldwide join in on the same day. I have also recorded 95% of what I do from the streets to the fundraisers as another tool to educate and bring awareness to the subject we are speaking about.
I also have done a lot of public speaking ever since I became aware of the animal issues globally. I feel it is the passion to help animals that gives me the courage to speak up and be a voice. I take any and all opportunities that come my way for animals and I do my best to support and/or network animal organizations to get them the help they need especially sanctuaries. I also donate prints of my art work to many fundraisers worldwide and I have one in particular that I donate to dozens of Sea Shepherd events every year that alone has raised over $3,000.
I am on facebook and I am very active locally and globally. I connect people, help support, and or raise awareness for them all for the bottom line of helping animals.
Now I go by the phrase "Artist for the Ocean".
My facebook page is
http://www.facebook.com/aArtistfortheOcean
I now paint the plight of the ocean with what I call my “Awareness Paintings”. I do my best to compile all the needed visuals to promote the story of the issue I want to relay to young and old. I have started with the slaughters of the ocean and now the plight of the ocean itself. The paintings have been shown at many art showings but I do not want to sell them. They are meant to be together and tell the story of what is happening from Whales, dolphins, seals, sea turtles and sharks. I am compiling a book of these paintings to further the animals lives of decline into book readers from schools to bookstores.
Now when I started my journey of researching animal slaughters I learned a lot to the point I needed to go public. I joined ARK II – Animal Rights Kollective of Toronto – Canada as their Director of International Campaigns since I built up a worldwide network just for animals. My first campaign with them was about shark cartilage against a company called Holista. We won this campaign 9 months after making it a nationwide win throughout Canada. I became very active on the streets with organizing demonstrations, protests, fundraisers for animal charities. I also became a board member for Oceanic Defense that was based out of California at the time to aid them in any grassroots action required. After that I founded my own organization called “Ocean Activists United – International Grassroots Action” which had 16 locations worldwide at one time. Then at the end of 2010 I was asked by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society if I wanted to be the Regional Coordinator for their Toronto Chapter which I gladly accepted.
Throughout the 3 years I only travel now for animal related issues from documenting, painting and/or organizing. This year alone I have gone to Japan where they slaughter dolphins in the town of Taiji to educate my readers and followers of the source of cetacean captivity and swim with dolphins. I witnessed 90 Dolphins slaughtered and 4 species of dolphins the time I spent there in Japan. Just a month ago I helped organize an Anti-captivity Mass Gathering in Miami – Florida where we did it at a location called Seaquarium that houses a very lonely female Orca named Lolita. The event was for worldwide captivity from zoos to aquariums with the focus on one establishiment while we had 5 other cities worldwide join in on the same day. I have also recorded 95% of what I do from the streets to the fundraisers as another tool to educate and bring awareness to the subject we are speaking about.
I also have done a lot of public speaking ever since I became aware of the animal issues globally. I feel it is the passion to help animals that gives me the courage to speak up and be a voice. I take any and all opportunities that come my way for animals and I do my best to support and/or network animal organizations to get them the help they need especially sanctuaries. I also donate prints of my art work to many fundraisers worldwide and I have one in particular that I donate to dozens of Sea Shepherd events every year that alone has raised over $3,000.
I am on facebook and I am very active locally and globally. I connect people, help support, and or raise awareness for them all for the bottom line of helping animals.
Now I go by the phrase "Artist for the Ocean".
My facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/aArtistfortheOcean