A few days ago, a group of buddies and I made the trek up to Muskoka to check out the Muskoka Wildlife Centre, to see what animals were kicking around in the dead of winter. Unfortunately for us the bear was hibernating, but there were plenty of other creatures milling about. Some of the animals were a little shy (or uninterested), like the Grey Wolves and the Fox, but the Bobcat and Lynx were oh so friendly! I'm glad I've got my wild cats straightened out now, because the difference between a Cougar and Bobcat is night in day; Cougar is horror! Knowing the difference when hiking around Northern Ontario may come in handy some day. The Bobcat & Lynx were irresistibly adorable, with their giant paws and strange house-cat faces, and I kept fantasizing about a cuddle-fest with the Bobcat (who had an eye removed from cancer, giving him a permanent *wink). Another trip is in order, perhaps this summer, when we potentially get to handle the animals.
This trip left me fantasizing about keeping some sort of wild animal as a pet, my favourites being the Bobcat & Fox (and an Owl!). Of course it is illegal to keep any native wildlife as a pet in Ontario (for good reason), but it doesn't stop their images from being incorporated into any artists' visual repertoire (including mine). I thought I'd look for photos of some prolific artists who found a wild animal enter their life, and see how they incorporate this animal bond into their art. My favourite story of artist-animal bonding is of painter Suzanne Valadon, who kept a pet goat in her studio in Montmartre, and would feed her goat with carrots that dangled from her neck like a necklace. Too bad I couldn't find any photo documentation of this! Below is a picture of Frida Kahlo with her deer, and following is Picasso with his little Owl, who flew into his studio one day in Antibes, France. Coincidentally, both Frida's deer painting and Picasso's owl visitation happened in 1946. I can't stand how fierce Picasso's owl is looking despite that it is just a twee bundle of feathers ! It has that same intensity that Picasso himself possessed, and in the same way the fawn echoes Frida's gentle and beautiful nature.
Painting: Frida Kahlo, The Little Deer, 1946
Photos: Michel Sima, Picasso and an Owl, 1946.
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