INSIGHThas donated original paintings,
prints, pet portrait gift vouches and
merchandise to various animal rescue
organisations, such as Sea Shepherd
Australia, Australian Orangutan
Project, Soi Dogs and, of course,
Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary, to use as
fundraisers.
“It’s wonderful to be able to use one
of my passions to benefit the other,”
Hazel says. “Pet portrait gift vouchers
are an excellent way to raise funds.
After the devastating Queensland
floods in 2011, I raffled one of my
vouchers and raised a quick $
which I donated to the Qld RSPCA.
Although I am a wildlife artist, I really
enjoy doing pet portraits. I know some
people look down on them as not ‘real
art’, but it does take skill to portray
someone’s loved pet realistically to
the point where they say ‘Oh wow!
You’ve absolutely captured his/her
spirit and likeness!’
“I really don’t see the difference
between conveying a human subject
in an exciting, original and captivating
pose, and conveying a non-human
subject the same way. We’re all
animals after all,” Hazel says with
a laugh. “Here in Tassie we’re very
fortunate to have our own special
version of the Archibald – it’s called
the ‘Poochibald’ and it’s a dog
portraiture competition!”
In recent times, Hazel has been
inspired by, and aspires to be as
good as, wildlife artists such as John
Seerey-Lester, Derek C. Wicks,
Terry Isaac and Richard Sloan. “John
Seerey-Lester has definitely had the
biggest influence on me,” Hazel says.
“His paintings are full of atmosphere
and intrigue and are unbelievably
realistic, yet still look like paintings,
not photographs. My own paintings
are done in a photo-realistic style,
and I too endeavour to retain that
‘painterly’ quality, and I love creating
atmospheric images.
“It’s important to me to portray each
animal in its natural environment, with
no visible signs of human intervention.
So you will probably never see me