According to Virgil, Arcadia is a state of mind that has to be lost in order to recreate it at a higher level. I now realise that this is on a box about one foot off the studio table, carefully lit and observed through a viewfinder. The scenes created there are the wild places that I paint. Some of them I've been to, others I've yet to see. Memories and daydreams of tropical Edens become tangible constructions in paper, cloth and plastic. Et in Arcadia Fimo!
 
Elephant Rain is an Indian term described by Kipling to mean soft rain. I chose thecolour and texture of the background in order to emphasize the warm softness of the tropical forest that embraces this family of elephants. It also contrasts with their geometric forms and crinkly skin.
 
I often look to Rousseau for jungle ideas but I hadn't found a convincing lion to match his in The Dream. Then it arrived in the post. A primary school in Surrey had sent photographs of models they'd been making from plasticine, based on my paintings. One of the pupils had added a brilliant lion facing forwards and that became my inspiration for Baobab Lion.

mark [at] markwardart [dot] co [dot] uk
www.markwardart.co.uk