Elephant Family

2010 – Present

My story with Elephant Family

Little did I know how much one man could have such a big impact on the lives of elephants as well as on my own. I went to hear a talk at the Royal Geographical Society in the early nineties by Mark Shand. He had taken it upon himself to buy an elephant and ride it across India. In fact he couldn’t have known before he set out on this fantastical journey that it was to shape the rest of his life. He came to realise the plight of the Asian elephant (in the past century their numbers have plummeted by 80%) and then unlike most people he did something about it. He set up the charity Elephant Family.
I can’t say I was so courageous after hearing his talk, I did nothing. However, over 15 years later in 2009 I received a highly unusual email asking if I would like to paint an elephant! – well a sculpture of one anyway.
This was the start of my relationship with this amazing charity, in 2015 they made me an ambassador and I continue to work with them. Read more