Wolf I and Wolf II

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Original Oil Painting - £350 and £300

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Wolves have always fascinated me. They are powerful, intelligent and fiercely independent, but they are also deeply social animals. They survive through cooperation, communication and a sense of responsibility to the pack. Each wolf has a role, and the strength of the group comes from individuals working together rather than simply looking after themselves.

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What interests me most is that idea of leadership through responsibility rather than dominance. The strongest leader isn’t necessarily the one at the front. Sometimes leadership is about being able to see the whole picture, keeping the group together, protecting those around you and knowing when to push forward and when to hold back. There is a sense of order within the pack, but also an incredible freedom and wildness.

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That tension is what I wanted to explore in these paintings.

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I began these paintings with graffiti aerosol paint, deliberately creating something raw, rebellious and almost anarchic. Over that, I painted the wolves in oil, using much more muted and controlled tones. The two approaches shouldn’t really work together, but somehow they do.

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The neon colours fight against the traditional oil painting. At times they clash, at others they seem to support each other. For me, that represents the tension between anarchy and tradition, individuality and community, freedom and responsibility.

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Perhaps that’s what I find so compelling about wolves. They are wild, but they are not alone. They have freedom, but they also have purpose. They exist somewhere between the instinct to run free and the need to belong.

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The paintings are my interpretation of that contradiction: the wildness within order, and the order within wildness.

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Wolf I - 20in x 20in 

Wolf II - 20in x 16in