Silverback Gorilla Print from Endangered Kingdom Series. This is a giclee print signed by the artist. Gorillas are critically endangered. 

Size:  8" x 10”

About the Artist: Steve Loya, is an artist from Virginia who draws wildlife art. He grew up watching movies and TV shows with lots of cool, creative monsters in them. Star Wars, Godzilla, Ultraman, and Spectre Man were a few that left an impression on the boy. Steve also had a love and appreciation for insects and animals, both current and prehistoric, from an early age, which later would figure into his art. While Steve likes to draw and paint more realistic interpretations of wildlife, Splotch Monsters are where he has the most fun. Beginning as an experiment and a daily creative exercise, these critters created from watercolors, acrylics, coffee, India ink, tea and more, branched out into many different directions, from cute and cartoony to more serious, abstract compositions, to something in between. Starting out as semi random paint "splotches," things like eyes, ears, horns, limbs, spots, stripes and more are added to bring them to life. Lately Steve has been having fun with more controlled, text-based Splotch Monsters.

You can find Steve doing Splotch Monster workshops and demos throughout the Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. region, where his Splotch Monster art hangs on the walls of a variety of galleries, coffee shops and other public spaces and homes.

From the Artist: “When drawing something, I want to get to know that subject matter better – to understand it, and to empathize with it perhaps. Such is the case with my ‘Endangered Kingdom’ series. How much do I really know or understand the many wonderful creatures, especially those whose lives and entire existence are on the brink of vanishing forever? How exactly would I portray these animals? 

“The idea of adding crowns to the animals' heads struck me as fun – an element of humor to balance a somewhat heavy topic. These animals are important, special, amazing, intelligent, interesting, dynamic, survivors, fighters and kings and queens. When struggling to decide what kind of crowns to add, I decided to design my own customized crown for each animal.”

If you would like to see more of Stephen's work, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/splotchmonsterisland/