Richard Childs, one of the many artists supporting our APE concept won the David Shepherd Foundation, Wildlife Artist of the Year Award for his “Hope of Sepilok” coloured pencil work on Tuesday 24th June. Richard was one of the first artists to donate to the work of BOS, a print of the fantastic drawing above.

BOS UK would like to take this opportunity to congratulate him on this momentous achievement!!

We recently had the opportunity to speak briefly with Richard about his artistic endeavours, just after his shortlisting for this award:

Q: How did you learn about BOS UK and its work, Richard?
A: After seeing the documentaries on the BBC showcasing the work that was being carried out by the organisation and Lone at Nyaru Menteng, I noticed the unerring commitment and passion of BOS for saving this great animal and was awe-struck.
Q: Is that what inspired you to draw this wonderful piece?
A: Absolutely. The urge to paint an image that highlighted the plight of the orangutan with a view to raising much needed funds for rehabilitation was too great.
Q: I am told the work took 65 hours to complete. That is amazing and must have been a real
labour of love….
A: Watching it slowly come to life on the canvas, I have never been so emotionally charged as I was when I saw the male orangutan slowly looking back at me as I progressed. It was hard work and yet time just seemed to fly by. I just can’t wait until I finish the next painting of a mother and baby - this will be my best yet and will definitely be an emotional roller-coaster ride for me.
Q: It would seem otherwise but art is not your actual career, correct?
A: Art is a passion for me. People seem to think I’m a professional artist but I design roads for a living as a Senior Engineer for Nottingham City Council so my time for art is precious.
Q: It truly is an incredibly beautiful piece of art and your donation to BOS UK was certainly well
received, and I know there is a happy ending to the beginning…
A: On completion of the painting, I contacted Michelle to say that I would donate a copy for charitable causes and for every copy of this limited edition print sold, a percentage would be donated to BOS UK. She was thrilled and I felt that I had done something worthwhile with my art for the first time ever.
A final word from the artist:
With the painting reaching the finals of the Wildlife Artist of the Year 2008 in association with the BBC’s Saving Planet Earth programme, I may actually see the Hope of Sepilok being sold at the Mall Galleries exhibition in London in June. I don’t really want to sell my orangutan but to donate it for a cause such as this will overcome personal loss. I’ll just have to hang one of my prints up on my wall at home! I would like to thank Michelle and BOS UK for being so complimentary about my work and look forward to donating more towards orangutan rehabilitation in the future.

Richard Childs