Shirley Dunbar is a self-taught artist using her art as an expression of the way she feels immersed and connected to the Natural World. She is actively raising monies to protect wildlife and wildlands which is the driving force behind her creativity. “I am using my skills as an artist to try to capture wildlife so that I can support people, groups or communities that have the ability to do something concrete on the front-line to reverse arising problems. Wildlife is endangered through different forms of poaching, canning, culling, trophy hunting and human / wildlife conflict. The additional problems of the destruction and pollution of environments cause the drastic decrease of species to the brink of, or total extinction. I believe wildlife problems are not from Mother Nature (as evidenced by turnaround solutions) but are caused by negative and harmful ways and decisions by those ill-informed, corrupt and disconnected from nature.”
Born in Zimbabwe where she lived for 25 years, she continually explored Matobo, a World Heritage site 30 minutes from her home and which was home to the largest number of African Leopards. The Matobo landscape in its uniqueness, silence and stark beauty is also an area of high botanical diversity. The grandeur of the huge granite stained outcrops and sheer rocks of Matobo have inspired her Wildlife and Botanical Art as has The Hwange Game Reserve (approximately the size of Belgium) where she fell in love with the inner and exterior beauty of the Elephant and the wildness of their land. The Lower Zambezi (the places of her many wild camping trips) and the Limpopo river areas were also within easy reach and felt wild and untouched. Later she was also able to see the landscape across Mozambique, Northern SA, Kwa-Zulu Natal and varied national and private South African Game Reserves. She was able to spend extended time in SA’s Phinda game reserve, a huge rare biodiverse tapestry of 7 different habitats, and it was here that she was invited to join off road 4x4 Lion tracking which was an incredible experience. She also spent time in diverse parts of Botswana from the edges of the inland Okavango Delta fed from the mountains of Angola to the beginnings of the Kalahari Desert sands.
“Through my exploration and experiences I keenly observe and constantly paint with my eyes, especially noticing different lights, weather moods, nature's movement, seasons and the ways of wildlife. I keep trying to put what is in my mind and heart onto my art paper and this may take forever as I am always learning. On the AFC website I will be showing a range of wildlife, including some in their habitats and also botanical artworks from observed life cycles that I grow or have good knowledge of. My work is realistically based but worked in varied abstract methods. I work in a range of media Egg Tempera, Gouache, Transparent Watercolour, Oil, Transparent Inks, Gold and Silver metalpoint and Graphite. I also work in the Stipple technique using black Indian transparent Ink.. “
Shirley chooses varied conservation projects for individual artworks and also supports AKASHINGA for their outstanding project to protect and improve wildlife, habitats and bordering communities in her homeland of Zimbabwe.
MAIN CURRENT PROJECTS:
(A) Co-existence with ELEPHANT in Botswana for NGO ECOEXIST - Elephant Corridor, Okavango Delta, Botswana
(B) Monitor Conservation, CANADA. This dedicated organization fights to halt the decline of species impacted by wildlife trade and trafficking. Monitor conducts in-depth investigations into wildlife trade trends at national and international levels, uncovering hidden networks and exposing illicit operations.
(C) ILLUSTRATING for a published USA Scientific and children's Author, for their latest children's book about BATS, a beautifully written book but more than that it is a book storytelling wildlife by bringing awareness of our incredible natural world up close and is set in the diverse richness of Costa Rica.
(D) My newest canvas SUBSTACK which is all about raising awareness through ART & STORYTELLING for the conservation and protection of land and marine wildlife and the natural world. I am raising monies for my projects via subscription FREE or PAID. I hope that you will join and support me. Thank you. Please see my SUBSTACK latest link below. https://wildlifeconservationart.substack.com/p/black-rhino-and-his-horn
(E) I also support fundraising for events / conferences. The last being support for VAQUITA PORPOISE, who are critically endangered, at event end NOV 2025, at The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. www.bwdots.com
