New Artwork - 'Home' Drawing

It was sheer bliss making another drawing of the Wolf Conservation Center's legendary Ambassador wolf Atka, this winter. Home also known as Atka’s Home 2019 Biro drawing is up for auction at this year's Wine & Wolves here: event.gives/wolves/items and is raising funds for WCC's vital work helping to conserve critically endangered Mexican gray and red wolf species, with only 14 red wolves remaining in the wild.

Globally famous, magnificent Atka dedicated his life to educating humans that wolves are essential. Sadly Atka passed away on 22 September 2018, so this year in honour of all that Atka gave wolves and humans, I decided to take Atka home.

The artwork features a Biro drawing of Atka layered with drawings symbolising the lands of his Arctic heritage. 

Included in the drawing layers is a portrait of Atka roaming on the Arctic Tundra followed by tiny drawings of his mate and pups and a frenzy of charging caribou, antlers entangled.

Further highlighting the beauty and charisma of majestic Arctic wolves, on Atka's back leg there is a small drawing of Ellesmere Island wolf Scruffy, who featured in Scottish wildlife filmmaker Gordon Buchanan’s BBC film The Snow Wolf Family and Me. This breathtaking film features unforgettable footage of Scruffy approaching to within touching distance of Gordon. The remarkable and tender moments when Gordon and Scruffy enjoyed a game of fetch can be viewed here:

The artwork aims to speak to those who knew and loved Atka; Atka is finally home, raising his family, wild and free in the Arctic landscape. Although the wings belong to a snowy owl layered through Atka, beyond his much-mourned passing, this feature also suggests that Atka’s angelic self is with those he loves.

Meeting Atka 2018

I am eternally grateful for the precious moments I spent with Atka in March 2018 when I visited the inspirational WCC. Atka's illuminating eyes told a tale from many millennia ago, when wolves thrived in harmony with the natural world.

Visit WCC and check out their auction here

Atka; image courtesy of WCC