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Douglas AjaDouglas Aja
AFC Douglas Aja
African Wildlife, Elephants,Douglas Aja
 
Douglas Aja began sculpting and casting in bronze in the late 1990s, combining his lifelong interests in wildlife and art. He focuses on African wildlife, specializing in elephants. Many of his elephant sculptures are of known individuals from Kenya’s Amboseli National Park. These elephants are the most celebrated wild elephants in the world, having been studied by Cynthia Moss and her research team (Amboseli Elephant Research Project) since 1972. He has been a longtime supporter of Amboseli Elephant Research Project as well as Joyce Poole's ElephantVoices. A portion of the sales proceeds are donated to these two organizations. He has also donated bronze sculptures and photographs for fund raising events. His bronze sculptures are in the private collections of Cynthia Moss, Joyce Poole, wildlife cinematographer Martyn Colbeck and the Bennington Center for the Arts. He is a signature member of Artists for Conservation(AFC) and an associate member of Society of Animal Artists and National Sculpture Society. In 2011, Doug was named Wildscape Magazine’s Wildlife Artist of the Year by winning the professional category of the competition for his bronze sculpture "Mourning Erin."

Traveling to Africa for the first time in 1978, Doug took part in a wilderness education program with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). There he studied wilderness and mountaineering skills, outdoor leadership, minimum impact camping and Kenya's culture. He continues to visit East Africa regularly to take photos, gather reference material and to further his knowledge and understanding of his subjects. He often backpacks on Mount Kenya, through Maasailand and has climbed Kilimanjaro.


Major Exhibitions and Awards:

Artists for Conservation, The Art of Conservation Exhibition: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
AFC 2009 Wildscape Award: Editor’s Choice Runner-up for Final Warning

National Sculpture Society:79th Annual Awards Exhibition 2012

Art Renewal Center, International A.R.C. Salon Competition: 2011/2012 Finalist

Wildscape Magazine: Wildlife Artist of the Year 2011 for Mourning Erin
Wildlife Photography Competition 2011: Winner, Black & White Category: Portrait of Echo

Society of Animal Artists Annual Exhibition: Art And The Animal 2008, 2011

Art of the Animal Kingdom, Bennington Center for the Arts: 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011

Laumeister Fine Art Competition, Bennington Center for the Arts: 2010, 2011
Honorable Mention 2010 for Locked In Battle

Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2008: Semi-finalist for Portrait of Echo

Featured Wildlife Artist: "The HeART of Wildlife Defense" Bill Jordan Wildlife Defense Fund. Madison, Wisconsin, 2005

Group show: Holland & Holland Art Gallery, New York City, 2003

Wild Wings Art Festival: Minnesota 2003


Regional Exhibitions and Awards:

Vermont Institute of Natural Science: Solo Show 2011-2012

Helen Day Art Center, Annual Members Show: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011

Southern Vermont Arts Center, National Fall Open Exhibition: 2006, 2007, 2008

Chaffee Center for the Visual Arts, Annual Members Show: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007. Connie Smith Memorial Award, 2003 for In His Prime. Merit Award, 2005 for Portrait of Echo






 
Support for Conservation:
Longtime supporter of Amboseli Trust for Elephants, Elephant Voices and the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

2009: October; Fundraiser for Elephants and ElephantVoices with Dr. Joyce Poole. Presented by the Los Angeles Alliance for Elephants. Donated bronze elephant "Battle Weary". Donated photographs; "Echo" and " Through the Shadows".

2008: October; Fundraiser for Elephants and ElephantVoices with Dr. Joyce Poole. Donated bronze elephant "Echo & Calf".




 

Collections:
  • 2009 - Bennington Center for the Arts
    Final Warning
     
  • 2006 - Martyn Colbeck
    In His Prime
     
  • 2002 - Cynthia Moss
    Wallow
     
  • 1999 - Joyce Poole
    Empathy
     

 

 
 
Direct Correspondence to:Douglas Aja
 
Douglas Aja
c/o 
1895 North Street
Montpelier, Vermont
USA 05602
Tel: (802)229-1011
 Worldwide Nature Artists Group
Email: dougaja@comcast.net
Douglas Aja Douglas Aja

 
All rights reserved. All images and text © Copyright 2013 Douglas Aja - Member of the Artists for Conservation Foundation (Formerly the Worldwide Nature Artists Group) www.natureartists.com. This site represents the original artwork
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Use of nature art, wildlife art or any other images or text from this site, requires permission in writing from Douglas Aja ().

This site is part of the Artists for Conservation (AFC) Web site. (Wildlife Art - Nature Art - Conservation) Artists for Conservation is an international, non-profit organization dedicated to nature art, wildlife art and conservation. On this site you will find world-class nature art and wildlife art by today's leading nature artists & wildlife artists. The AFC site is the Web's premier location for nature art, wildlife artists All content appearing in pages featuring Douglas Aja is the sole responsibility of Douglas Aja. The opinions expressed on these artists' pages are those of Douglas Aja and do not necessarily reflect those of the Artists for Conservation Foundationi (AFC).