On March 28, 2007, UK artist Pollyanna Pickering and her daughter/manager Anna-Louise Pickering departed for Bhutan sketch and paint the rare flora and fauna of this largely undisturbed region of the Himalayas.
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Pollyanna PickeringHonMUniv NDD AFC SOFA Painter of the Living World
Pollyanna Pickering returns from Expedition into Rwanda
Pollyanna has recently returned from an expedition to piant mountain gorillas - sitting in deep undergrowth just a few feet away from a huge troop in the Virunga mountains in Rwanda. Despite having been fortunate enough to travel across five continents and to observe many endangered species in their natural habitats, Pollyanna described her experiences of sitting quietly in the midst of a group of gorillas as ‘one of the most magical days of my life’, and made the most of the chance to record her impressions in her sketch folder. The first paintings inspired by the expedition into Rwanda will be displayed at Pollyanna’s forthcoming exhibition Last Chance to Paint
There are no Mountain Gorillas in captivity anywhere n the world - all gorillas in zoos are lowland gorillas, which are somewhat smaller and have very different facial features – so the only way for any artist to sketch and paint them with absolute accuracy is to make the arduous trek up into the mountain range which is their home. The volcanic slopes of Virunga mountains straddle the borders of Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo - areas which have seen much human violence, from which the gorillas have not escaped unscathed. Pollyanna trekked into the heart of the gorilla’s habitat - and were also rewarded with sightings of endemic Golden monkeys.
