I sketched this as a student back in ’98, while I was trying to build up my animation portfolio.

Zoo sketching was always challenging. I gravitated torward the elephants because they stayed relatively still and moved slowly. They were great models for a beginner. Later, after a trip to see the elephants at the San Diego Zoo, I found them to be something more.

I laid a clipboard, like the ones used in life drawing, against a rope fence. They watched me. Big African Elephants. Beautiful wrinkly skin, some even with freckles. I hatched out half a dozen pastel sketches and ended up hitting a sketch, which I felt captured a certain elephant’s gaze. My efforts began to attract a small group, and this managed to bring the elephant closer. It was as if he wandered over casually, like he was part of the crowd. It was a cool little scenario for a few minutes. On the drive home that night, I kept thinking- there was something very human about that elephant.

I think about it every now and then. It’s then I want to go and see the pastels. The problem is, I carefully arranged all of them into a portfolio that I… carelessly lost. My name and phone number are still in there, so call me if you find it.

There is an excellent article in the NY Times about recent studies into elephant behavior and the human connection. Click on this: Elephant article

This entry was posted on Monday, October 9th, 2006 at 7:17 pm and is filed under Drawings, Ends. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.