I have always had a love of rodents...They make me laugh... I've painted Beaver, Groundhog, Gopher and Prarie Dog but the humble rat has always held a fascination for me. They are universally hated yet they rival us for mammalian global domination. 'Thought to have originated in northern China, (The Chinese will flood the world market with anything...) this rodent has now spread to all continents, except Antarctica, making it the most successful mammal on the planet after humans' (Source: Wikipedia). The UK estimated population varies between 60 million to 200 million. It depends who you ask (Sources: The Government and Rentokil). The rat population has always been a political issue as it is linked with things such as regeneration of delapidated Victorian sewer networks, urban decay and local government spending cuts linked to refuse and pest control.
Rats also vary in size a lot...ranging from 8" to 24" nose to tail (Sources: Rentokil and Bradford City Council)
Rats can eat virtually anything... A rat can happily dine out on dog excrement (any breed, rats do not have a complicated palate) though Matteson's lab tests showed that 12% of rats expressed a slight preference for the taste of Linda McCartney sausages but experienced uncomfortable flatulence afterwards. For me, rats lend themselves to caricature work and comedy, moreso than other animals....that's just me though. Anyway here are some rat inspired works...
Special thanks to Rogue Gene colleague Andrea Farmer for this collaboration. Oil on canvas entitled Ergot.
Rest in peace Richard Whiteley. The final Countdown...
Ha, ha, these cartoons are great - as is the collaboration (I'm biased, obviously). Thanks for the link. ;)
ReplyDeleteNo probs AF....getting my shit on... back to work.
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