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Kitty Cantrell
Award-winning artist and environmentalist Kitty Cantrell
is known for her striking sculptures of North American wildlife.
Intricately designed and detailed, her Mixed Media sculptures
capture expressions of animals that have never known human
touch. When asked what inspired her to start sculpting, Kitty
replied, I've done it since I was little. It's the only thing
I'm good at---it's what I've done ever since I can remember."
Wolves, eagles and humpback whales are a few of the subjects
this native Californian has chosen to sculpt since beginning
her professional career.
Kitty is one of the few American artists today who has a
natural talent for capturing the animals she chooses to sculpt
as only nature knows them. Cantrell begins the sculpting process
with only a general idea of what she is about to create. When
asked where her ideas come from, Kitty confessed that "some
of my best ideas come from my collectors." To ensure
the authenticity and accuracy of her sculptures, Kitty spends
numerous hours researching the animals, paying close attention
to subtle details such as the wing span or shape of a tail.
"I like working on subjects with which I am fairly unfamiliar,"
she says. "That makes me study up on them and that keeps
it interesting. The busier I am, the happier I am."
Kitty produces a rough sculpture out of soft clay to check
for composition and form. She then painstakingly forms a master
sculpture that is to scale and anatomically correct. This
second sculpture is sent to the Legends/Genesis foundry in
Los Angeles, California, where a resin cast is made and the
manufacturing process begins.
Cantrell believes that her sculptures are a way for people
to better understand the earth's wild creatures. "A lot
of stuff that happens to wildlife is so unintentional. If
my sculptures can make people think about wildlife and appreciate
the importance of it, then maybe they will feel compelled
to help." When asked where she would like to see herself
in the distant future, Kitty's love for wildlife and, in particular,
wildlife rehabilitation, is at the forefront of her thoughts,
as she tells us that she plans to be "sitting on a mountain
top with broken and battered animals around that I'm trying
to put back together." Demonstrating her commitment to
animals and wildlife, Kitty donates a portion of the proceeds
from her art to the Nature Conservancy, the World Wildlife
Fund and the Grounded Eagle Foundation.
"If my sculptures can make people think about wildlife
and appreciate the importance of wildlife, then maybe they
will feel compelled to help protect it."----- -Kitty
Cantrell
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