by Beth Molasky

     I grew up with animals. Zoos, Wild Animal parks, and marine life sanctuaries are my playgrounds. But nothing fills me with suspense the way actual animal encounters do. My first Safari was in 2000 when I went to Tanzania and Kenya. I got married on the Serengeti after an early morning balloon flight over herds of roaming elephants, giraffes, zebras and wildebeests.

     Since that time, I have held baby pandas in China, hiked to see mountain gorillas in Rwanda, riddden a camel in Namibia, and I have seen a Bengal tiger up close and personal while on an elephant's back in Nepal.  I have watched hippos fight in Zambia, seen Orangutans and Proboscis monkeys in Borneo, and been astonished as lions stalked their kills on open plains. I even gasped as a leopard jumped out of a tree in front of me!  I have heard baboons screach, hyenas sulk around my campground, and cheetahs race after prey at record speeds.

     Throughout my lifetime, I have been lucky to have observed so many amazing birds and animals roaming our planet. Their elaborate coloration, camouflage, and features so like our own, yet so much more vibrant, have led me to try to capture their vitality on my canvases. As I paint, I feel the presence of each animal in my brushstrokes.  That is why I have created the "WE ARE ONE" SERIES because when one of us is threatened, we all are threatened.  Throughout life's cycles, we are all depenent upon one another's survival.