Tote bag - 35.6 x 35.6 x 7.6 cm.

Expressions can be augmented in a work of art, this removes the limitation of a photograph and this comes with the artistic freedom granted to artists. An artist can alter the expressions to bring out the elements s/he chooses to showcase and relegate other features into the background. For this magnificent animal I seek to highlight traits that show power, grace and courage. I have used just lines, shapes and colours to tell that story. Thankfully nature has given us an abundance of reference points which a trained and sensitive eye can easily pick out. This work attempts to give the viewer a near sight experience of that power and grace. The exaggerated teeth and the sharp eyes grip the viewer and you cannot take your gaze away from the magnificent creature.

Inspired by the poem “Tiger” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

In the still jungle of the senses lay
A tiger soundly sleeping, till one day
A bold young hunter chanced to come that way.
"How calm," he said, "that splendid creature lies,
I long to rouse him into swift surprise!"
The well aimed arrow shot from amorous eyes,
And lo! the tiger rouses up and turns,
A coal of fire his glowing eyeball burns,
His mighty frame with savage hunger yearns.
He crouches for a spring; his eyes dilate—
Alas! bold hunter, what shall be thy fate?
Thou canst not fly, it is too late, too late.
Once having tasted human flesh, ah! then,
Woe, woe unto the whole rash world of men,
The wakened tiger will not sleep again.

Did you know:
Many subspecies of the tiger are either endangered or already extinct. Humans are the primary cause of this through hunting and the destruction of habitats. There are more tigers held privately as pets than there are in the wild. Tigers can reach a length of up to 3.3 metres (11 feet) and weigh as much as 300 kilograms (660 pounds).

Subspecies of the tiger include the Sumatran Tiger, Siberian Tiger, Bengal Tiger, South China Tiger, Malayan Tiger and Indochinese Tiger. Around half of tiger cubs don’t live beyond two years of age. Tiger cubs leave their mother when they are around 2 years of age. The tiger is the biggest species of the cat family.
A group of tigers is known as an ‘ambush’ or ‘streak’.

Tigers are good swimmers and can swim up to 6 kilometres. Rare white tigers carry a gene that is only present in around 1 in every 10000 tigers. Tigers usually hunt alone at night time. Tigers have been known to reach speeds up to 65 kph (40 mph). Less than 10% of hunts end successfully for tigers.

Tigers can easily jump over 5 metres in length. Various tiger subspecies are the national animals of Bangladesh, India, North Korea, South Korea and Malaysia.

Watch Video: SIKA