The Lemur Tree

New painting to go on display at Tate Modern

The Lemur Tree, 2018

poster paint and pen on canvas

Five years after my trip to Madagascar and I am still painting lemurs. My latest painting, The Lemur Tree, will go on display at Tate Modern (where I am lucky enough to work) in the inaugural staff exhibition which is open to the public on Saturday the 7th and Sunday the 8th of April 2018. To see it for yourself come along that weekend to Level 6 in the Blavatnik Building at Tate Modern. It's free entry, open all weekend (until 10pm on Saturday) and there will be lots of great art on display from my Tate colleagues from all departments and sites.

This painting brings together twelve species of lemurs (of the 100+ that exist), from different regions of Madagascar (ring-tailed, indri, sifaka, aye-aye, brown lemur, red ruffed, black and white ruffed, sportive lemur, bamboo lemur, wooly lemur, mouse lemur and fat-tailed dwarf lemur). Other indigenous wildlife seen here include a predatory fossa, a chameleon and a gecko as well as birds: a hoopoe and a red-tailed newtonia. The tree is a stylised version of the endemic tapia tree, with baobab trees on the horizon. There's more flora and fauna in the grass which is composed of tiny doodles.

If you want to see some of my previous paintings, they are all on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/lloydellis

Me and a friend in Madagascar...

More pictures here:
Madagascar - Part 1 - Fort Dauphin, Lanirano and Nahampoana,
Madagascar - Part 2 - Sainte Luce,
Madagascar - Part 3 - Berenty and the Spiny Forest,
Madagascar - Part 4 - Antanarivo and Andasibe

The Streets of Madagascar

The Kids of Sainte Luce

I'm back!

After 5 wonderful weeks in Madagascar I am finally back in London and will be updating these pages with photos and reports very soon... watch this space!

Only two days to go!

Not long to go now...

It's just over a week before I depart for Madagascar, and I am already all packed and ready but am sure I have forgotten something! I'd like to thank those of you who have supported my charitable fundraising and for those who have been asking what I will be doing there... here'a as succinct an answer as I can muster.

I will be working with Azafady on their volunteer conservation programme for what I am sure will be a frustratingly short four weeks but which I am hoping will make a difference. I will be participating in the lemur and Biodiversity Research as well as working with some community conservation projects.

There's a bit about the module here: http://www.madagascar.co.uk/get-involved/sainte-luce-lemur-biodiversity-research.htm

and some nice photos on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.15228925006.40422.610700006&type=1

I will be sharing all my adventures and photos with you on my return and now just can't wait to get out there.

If you still want to support this mission then please donate to my Paypal whatever you can spare and I will send you a lovely lemur print of one of my paintings. http://lloydloveslemurs.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/lemur-prints-available-to-order.html

Photos from our fundraiser

HungaMunga's Madagascar Special at The Others in Stoke Newington on 9th of March... with lovely food, arts and crafts and live music from Olly the Octopus, Jamie West, We Are Goose, Antony Elvin and the Tudor Unit, Budda Cakes and Seymour's Fat Lady... with a special appearance from the hilarious Tom Bell. I sold a couple of paintings... We raised a bit of money for Azafady and had a bloody good time! Thanks to all who came!

and there's more pictures on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151293518257007.1073741826.561702006

If you would still like to donate to my fundraising you can do so here:

Happy Birthday Douglas!

Today would have been the 61st birthday of writer Douglas Adams' – and the occasion is being marked by Google with a Google Doodle. Check it out here: www.google.co.uk ... it has a fully working Hitch-hiker's Guide! Click on it and see!

and here's a clip of Douglas talking enthusastically about the Aye-Aye lemur and his expedition that has inspired me to go there all these years later...

and a clip from 1985...

and here's the 10 minute radio show that started it all...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/lastchancetosee/sites/radio/aye_aye.shtml