“To regard any animal as something lesser than we are, not equal to our own vitality and adaptation as a species, is to begin a deadly descent into the dark abyss of arrogance where cruelty is nurtured on the corners of certitude. Daily acts of destruction and brutality are committed because we fail to see the dignity of Other.”
-Terri Tempest Williams
Painting is still a bit like old fashioned alchemy. The raw ingredients are there for transformation, darkness holds many seeds. Magic can still be found in painted animals that can talk and tell us things we might not see otherwise. It’s a silent dialogue only some tune into.The artist, the picture and the viewer are the triangle that completes a circuit, allowing us to catch a glimpse of the Other.
Since I was a child, animal imagery has always figured into my paintings and drawings. Fish, birds, mammals and insects filled my school notebook margins. Drawing them helped me focus and conjure them, like wild superheroes from beyond. The more I saw them being displaced by strip malls, highways, and mono-crops, the more I needed them. To this day, I still see animals as fellow travelers and teachers, operating outside the grind of daily jobs and rote schooling.
In a time of darkness and loss, how are we to be witnesses? How can we make out shapes and edges and bring them back to the light? We are living in times of change and upheaval, with the natural world under siege. Earth is losing diversity at an alarming rate, close to a third of species, both plant and animal, are at risk of extinction due to industrial activity. Up to 150 species go extinct everyday. I feel this loss deeply, and try to honor wild beings.
Denise Monaghan
March, 2025
-Terri Tempest Williams
Painting is still a bit like old fashioned alchemy. The raw ingredients are there for transformation, darkness holds many seeds. Magic can still be found in painted animals that can talk and tell us things we might not see otherwise. It’s a silent dialogue only some tune into.The artist, the picture and the viewer are the triangle that completes a circuit, allowing us to catch a glimpse of the Other.
Since I was a child, animal imagery has always figured into my paintings and drawings. Fish, birds, mammals and insects filled my school notebook margins. Drawing them helped me focus and conjure them, like wild superheroes from beyond. The more I saw them being displaced by strip malls, highways, and mono-crops, the more I needed them. To this day, I still see animals as fellow travelers and teachers, operating outside the grind of daily jobs and rote schooling.
In a time of darkness and loss, how are we to be witnesses? How can we make out shapes and edges and bring them back to the light? We are living in times of change and upheaval, with the natural world under siege. Earth is losing diversity at an alarming rate, close to a third of species, both plant and animal, are at risk of extinction due to industrial activity. Up to 150 species go extinct everyday. I feel this loss deeply, and try to honor wild beings.
Denise Monaghan
March, 2025
