The Favourite

Signed original painting by Carol Barrett 🦁 Size: 16.5in x 11.8in (20.5in x 15.9in mounted) | 42cm x 30cm (mount 52cm x 40.5cm) 🦁 Art Medium: Original watercolour and gouache painting 🦁 Retail Value: £700 / $945 🦁 Starting Bid: £350 / $472 *Shipping not included in final bid. This item ships from the UK. All my artwork is inspired from animals I have seen and sketched in the wild on field trips to Africa. I decided for my Big Cat painting to feature the favourite cub of all the lionesses in one of the resident prides in Tanzania’s Selous Game Reserve. This youngster was confident, curious and strong in comparison with his siblings, even gaining the special attention of his father, as he had a very charismatic character and was quick to learn. Lions (African) are classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Populations have declined by over 40% in recent decades to around 20,000~23,000 lions remaining in the wild. West African subpopulations are Critically Endangered. African lions have been pushed out of 94% of their historical range due to human/wildlife conflict. Threats come from poisoning from local ranches protecting their livestock, habitat loss, which creates small isolated populations causing genetic bottlenecks that cause health issues, an illegal trade from poached bones for traditional Asian medicine. https://www.instagram.com/carolbarrettartist | https://www.carolbarrett.co.uk/