Tamarin. "On the Alert"
"On the Alert" is a original painting of a Golden Lion Tamarin by wildlife artist, Wendy Warren. Rendered in pastel and pastel pencils, the painting captures the shimmering qualites of this delightful creature.
The painting is presented in a beautiful, black, hand-finished frame (45cm x 51cm). This Victorian style presentation, without a mount, leaves the painting jewel-like against the dark wood. A beautiful and unique piece of art.
"On the Alert" is priced at £650. If you are interested please email Wendy for details, or call her on 01794 368142. We are delighted to include a personal note if the painting is a gift. "On the Alert" is now also available as a limited edition print.
Wendy... on painting a Golden Lion Tamarin
I absolutely love tamarins! They are the most characterful and amusing little creatures and I can quite happily sit and watch them for hours.
I have been very lucky to meet some of them at close quarters thanks to Marwell zoo. Before their new enclosure was completed Marwell allowed a few of their golden lion tamarins to range freely for short periods of time. As you can imagine some of them began to get quite adventurous, which was obviously a delight for many of us!
On one such memorable occasion the tamarins were playing in the trees and amusing their audience with various antics, when suddenly they all sat up and were very obviously taking note of something interesting nearby. A few moments later one of Marwell’s open sided vans drew up to deliver food to the giraffe house opposite.
As soon as the keepers had disappeared from view the tamarins instantly staged a commando style raid! They were totally oblivious to their many onlookers as they filed across the road and leapt up onto the van, completely focused on the task at hand.
It was comical to watch their endeavors at opening sacking and boxes. Many of them were very successful and came away with handfuls of bananas and other fruit! I have to say I’m not sure the keepers were too concerned, as they were all standing on the upper balconies of the giraffe house laughing as much as the rest of us!
It was this lovely encounter which inspired this painting. I was so enchanted by their antics and sheer bravado! I managed to obtain lots of fun shots and some excellent reference.
‘On the Alert’ was my first real endeavor with pastel pencils and I was pleased with the results. Quite apart from their wonderful characters the stunning colours of the golden lion tamarin are just too tempting to resist and trying to capture them was quite a challenge. Something I’m sure I’ll be taking on again some time in the future.
Marwell zoo has been involved in an international breeding programme which has played a significant part in re-introducing golden lion tamarins back into their natural habitat. This programme has been very successful and meant that golden lion tamarins were downgraded from critically endangered to endangered in 2003.
Lets hope that it continues to be so, because believe me, a golden lion tamarin shimmering in the sunshine is a delightful and truly beautiful sight.
Where can I learn more about Golden Lion Tamarins?
If you are interested in learning more about Golden Lion Tamarins take a look at these web sites: