This work is inspired by a beautiful photo by Britt Bosse. She takes the most beautiful photos of animals. It's something different than my previous work, It's a combination between realism and intuitive art. I used coloured pencils and watercolour paint.  

Zoran lives at Sanctuary het Wijland in the Netherlands. He was born on March 26, 2020. Zoran has never been 'trained' as a horse. He is promised that as long as he lives at the Wijland sanctuary, this will remain the case. He is the purest horse of all the horses that live at the sanctuary.

Zoran's father is a large Frisian and his mother is a pony. He is over 20 cm taller than his mother and bigger than all the other horses at the sanctuary. Still he often feels and behaves like the baby of the group. This way he can seek closeness to his mother at tense moments. She always lets him know with a very soft neigh that she is there for him. (information from sanctuary het Wijland)

In remembrance to Max. Max was a rooster living at sanctuary Vrijlief (the Netherlands). He was one of a kind. Every morning he waited at the door. Sitting close to Liesbeth was his favourite thing to do. He died the 11th of April 2021. 

The Mexican Gray Wolf is among the most endangered subspecies of wolfs in the world. As of February 2016 there were only 97 Mexican Gray wolves remaining in the wild. It's so important that we take care of this world and give space to wild populations. 

This reproduction will come with a passe partout made by me, because the sizing of this drawing is not easily to put in a frame. 

10 % of the purchase price of this work is donated to the Wolf Conservation Center in South salem NY.

Bessie and Baelfire, two beautiful goats living at Safe Haven Farm Sanctuary (US). Bessie was a dairy goat, was kept illegally and facing slaughter. Luckily she is living her life at the sanctuary now. Bessie is sweet and gentle. 

Baelfire and another goat (Firefly) were being send to slaughter after being raised by 2 children as a project. The children objected to them being sent to slaughter. After two lonely years in a small pen they were welcomed at the sanctuary. Baelfire is a lovely and energetic goat and very friendly. Bessie and Baelfire are in a love affair. 

Many pigeons live in cities and a lot of them are suffering pain and disfigurement as a result of a condition known as stringfoot. Stringfoot is a term used to describe pigeons whose feet have become entangled with foreign matter, whether actual string, thread, real or artificial humain hair, dental floss, yarn, or the many other materials discarded by the human population in cities. In the Netherlands pigeonrescue.nl is taking care of a lot of these pigeons. They also educate about care for pigeons with stringfoot.

I love Corvids! Corvids are large big-brained birds that often live in intimate social groups of related and unrelated individuals. They are known to be intelligent - capable of using tools, recognizing human faces, and even understanding physics- and some reseachers believe crows may rival apes for smarts. A huge thanks to Kathy (kathydenbydale) for letting me use this photo as a reference.

Mochni has hair made of feathers, eyes which resemble the ones of chickens, a nose and mouth which could be yours.  Is she a non human animal or maybe a human animal? Mochni is an earthling, an individual, a special and different one and has a soul. Let's look at earthlings with an open mind and care for them. Be aware of your speciesm and conditioned beliefs. (Speciesism is the biased belief in the superiority of some species over others. According to this prejudice some animal species are favoured over others, and the human animal is favoured above all other species).

Guus was born on March 11, 2021 at a petting zoo. His mother was already very old, but because the petting zoo wanted to show young animals in the spring, she was made pregnant despite her age. Possibly due to the older age of his mother, he has a weak hindquarters and abnormal position of his front legs. Guus was also still very young when he was separated from his mother, namely at 2 months old. In nature, they drink mother's milk for 5 to 6 months. Mother and child then remain together until approximately the first year of life. Female goats can even stay with their mother for their entire lives. At petting zoos, goat lambs are usually taken from their mothers at the age of 3 months. With Guus it was even earlier. Guus would go to the slaughterhouse together with the other goats. However, he was saved, and thus escaped the fate that many goats that are born every year at petting zoos suffer. 

Guus is now living at sanctary het Wijland. He is a very sweet and gentle boy who has already stolen many hearts. He loves to be tickled, especially on his chest. He knows how to avoid jitters - namely by standing on your shovel or broom while cleaning the goat pasture!

Tinus lives at Sanctuary Het Wijland in the Netherlands. Sanctuary Het Wijland is a safe haven for animals, a place of awareness for people and a meeting place for animal lovers.

Tinus can be himself, a horse, without being used as entertainment for humans.

Sofia is a mule. Her father is a Grand Noir du Berry donkey and her mother is a Breton, a French draft horse. Sofia was born in France and when she came to sanctuary het Wijland at the age of 3, she had already been to Spain and Italy. Het Wijland became 'owner' number 9. Mules have been bred by humans for many years and often used as pack animals. That nature did not exactly intend it this way is evident from the fact that mules are actually always infertile.

Sofia has been living at the sanctuary for years now. She is soft, super sensitive and very sweet. Things are also going well in the herd and she happily walks among the horses.

Sofia is a teacher for me. She taught me not to ran away when I am scared. She taught me how to stand in this world, feel your feet and observe.

Sofia wasn't seen when she was younger. So now you can shine dear Sofia! You are important, you are love!

Titus

Steve is a rooster living at sanctuary Het Wijland. He is a beautiful, sweet and gentle soul. 

Karel was a goat and lived at sanctuary Het Wijland. Karel was used as a goat in de goat dairy industry. He was such a sweet boy and loved attention and being tickled so much. He closed his eyes to enjoy the feeling even more. He was so gentle and put a smile on everyone's face. He taught me to enjoy the moment. 

De Nobele Hoeve (the Netherlands) is a shelter (mainly) for animals from the livestock industry. These animals are traumatized and are given time, love, safety, care and attention to be themselves again. Margarit (woman in the drawing) runs this magical place with the help of volunteers. Lisette Kreischer took the beautiful reference photo and gave me permission to use it for my painting. She is a photographer who makes magical photos of animals at sanctuaries.