Animal Art by Jenny Pope

This playful image of a Newfoundland dog herding puffins through the streets is a color-reduction woodcut by artist Jenny Pope, who features animals as her subjects.  I just love the lines, colors, detail, movement, and expression in all her work, but this piece is one of my favorites.  I love the way she captured the charming awkwardness of the puffins (my favorites are the two perched together on the roof; they look like they’re watching and laughing at the situation on the ground below them) and the determined expression on the Newfoundland’s face as he orchestrates the movements of the birds.

For each work of art, Jenny writes the explanation or story behind it.  I really appreciate artists who do this.  I feel like having a deeper understanding of a work of art also helps me have a deeper connection to it.

Take this next piece as an example.  Isn’t knowing the story behind the picture almost as good as gazing at the picture itself?  The story and the image capture the imagination in different ways.

GOOSE! Surprise, those shellfish were named after waterfowl. Barnacle Geese breed in the northern territories of Canada. Before their breeding grounds were known, people had the idea that the geese hatched from shellfish living on the banks of shorelines, nobody ever saw the goose’s gosslings, so the mind was left to wander.

In an email, Jenny explained why and how  animals inspire her art:

I enjoy the company of animals in life and in artwork. Invasive, endangered, extinct, and mythic animals uncurl from my imagination in the form of woodcut prints.  I make art because I believe that with education and understanding of the environment, people will learn to respect and attach importance to our own backyards and beyond. I hope to inform my audience about the natural world so that information can bring stewardship and respect. I am currently working on three new projects which include bird migration myths, global warming band-aids, and a children’s book about invasive animals.

She also explained how she makes these color-reduction woodcuts:

[...] I take one block of wood, draw an image onto the block, carve then print. Each printed color comes from carving away the previous layer so when I am finished, all that is left of my wood block is the last color that was printed. I can never remake an image unless I re-carve a new piece of wood. The prints are very limited edition, not a typical Kinko’s reproduction.

Here’s another Kinko’s-free artwork that I really love. It demonstrates that Jenny’s work and art in general, sometimes challenges its viewer.  In an email, Jenny says, “I definitely do not think an animal has to be cute in order to make a woodcut about it!  In fact, quite the opposite, I usually do not use “cute” animals as my subject.”  This picture is from her series on destructive, invasive species (invasive species are definitely an un-cute, serious problem).  This hedgehog, an animal imported from Europe to New Zealand, is stealing an egg from a despondent nesting kiwi bird.  Notice the long, sad lines on the kiwi’s feathers and the deviously delighted expression on the hedgehog’s face.

Poor kiwi bird.  But hedgehogs have to eat, too.

You can find all of Jenny Pope’s art at www.jpopstudios.com.  Before I go, I want to show you one more of my favorite works from her website.  This cacophony of whirls and curls is entitled “Male Poodles.”  On her website Jenny writes, “I enjoyed the irony of a dog being ‘male’ and being ‘poodle.’”:

-MJ Schindler, aka Kitty Mowmow