Long Day in Pretoria With Frog

 2018 | Bronze And Steel | 40 X 40 X 40 Cm

Indoor courtyard with a reflective fountain featuring a ceramic frog and a coiled sculpture, lush cactus and succulent plants in a white circular planter, white angular walls, and modern design elements against a cloudy sky.

Growing up in South Africa, I developed a deep and lasting love of frogs.  My most vivid childhood memory is of a long day spent out by a small waterhole on a hot day interacting with frogs.  They really and truly were gentle and friendly souls.  I even discovered that they enjoy a gentle caress along the spine – I never tried kissing one though, but I suppose I can claim to have experienced some level of intimacy with a frog.

As the years went by and adulthood took over, I somehow buried my frog feelings.  It was when I produced the first frog sculpture that I came to understand my feelings.  It was the small things – literally down to the extent to which I found I knew frog physiology on an intuitive level.

So it began. Eight years and 20 or so frog sculptures later, I feel like I’m just starting this relationship.

So here I present my latest frog portrait.  I’ve called this work “Long day in Pretoria with Frog”.

Credit
I would also love to say a big thank you to my dealer in Paris, Stan Mink.  Stan, you’ve given me the steam and power to follow my frog passion. Its your exacting standards that have kept pushing me forward.

A modern indoor scene with a large seashell sculpture, a small frog statue, and a garden with cacti and succulents in the background.
“We declare the following: “The absence of a neocortex does not appear to preclude an organism from experiencing affective states. Convergent evidence indicates that non-human animals have the neuroanatomical, neurochemical, and neurophysiological substrates of conscious states along with the capacity to exhibit intentional behaviors. Consequently, the weight of evidence indicates that humans are not unique in possessing the neurological substrates that generate consciousness. Non- human animals, including all mammals and birds, and many other creatures, including octopuses, also possess these neurological substrates.””
— The Cambridge Declaration of Consciousness, 2012

Behind the Scenes

A wooden sculpture of a frog sitting on a piece of wood, placed on a circular work table next to art supplies and bottles.
Wooden sculpture of three lizards around a metal pole on a circular wooden base.
Wooden sculpture in progress on a work table in a workshop with tools and materials on shelves in the background.
A small brown lizard with a black stripe on its back and raised eyes, sitting on a clear glass bottle on a weathered wooden surface. A decorative item with a circular pattern and horn-like protrusions is partially visible on the surface.
Close-up of a large shell or set of shells mounted as a sculpture on a round stone pedestal, with a shiny metal pole through the center, in an industrial or workshop setting.
A wooden crescent-shaped wood carving piece on a round table next to a shiny metal pole.