I have always been fascinated by giraffes, by their height, by their long neck, by their slender legs. These magnificent animals move in their environment with their elegant gait and transmit calmness and sweetness to me. For the realization of this work I chose to portray the head of this beautiful specimen on a warm and yellow background, to reproduce the shades of its habitat, the African savannah. This work is made with oil colors on a canvas 80 cm x 60 cm.
All my paintings are entirely handmade and are unique and original pieces.
My artworks, of hyperrealistic and with a photographic style, have got as main subjects animals, mostly exotic ones such as elephants, giraffes or leopards, or typical of the Sardinian territory. I manage to highlight the details, meticulously cared for, and to focus attention on the subject, which is the only character of the work: the background, in fact, is absent, it is mostly monochrome and it emphasizes the focus on the animal, abstracting and extracting it from a real space.
My style is defined as pop - hyperrealism because the subjects are painted following a detailed technique, but their position in an unreal space gives the artworks features that are more typical of pop art, so hyperrealism and a graphic style melt. I use different techniques according to the subject and the effects I want to obtein.
Look at the gallery with all my paintings: https://www.tizianasanna.com/en/animals
Some information about the giraffe, the long-necked mammal.
The giraffe is an African mammal to which four species belong, it is the tallest living terrestrial animal, as well as the largest ruminant. Its most striking main features are the extremely long neck and legs, the horn-like ossicones and the peculiar coloring of the coat. Adult giraffes can reach a height of 5–6 m; males are taller than females. The average weight is around 1200 kg in males and 828 kg in females. Despite the length of the neck and legs, the giraffe's body is relatively short.
The coat is covered with patches or dark spots (which can be orange, brown, brown or almost black) separated by light hair (generally white or cream-colored). The coat of males darkens with age. and giraffes graze the twigs of the trees, preferring those of the genera Acacia, Commiphora and Terminalia, which constitute important sources of calcium and proteins useful for supporting the growth rate of the animal. They also feed on shrubs, grass and fruits. A giraffe consumes around 34 kg of leaves per day.
Giraffes have probably been a common target for hunters from all over Africa. Different parts of their bodies were used for different purposes. The meat was eaten. With the hair on the tail, fly swatters, bracelets, necklaces and threads were made. Shields, sandals and drums were made from the skin, while tendons were useful as strings for musical instruments.
The giraffe is classified as a minimum risk species by the IUCN, as it is still numerous. However, the species has disappeared from many areas of its historical range, such as Eritrea, Guinea, Mauritania and Senegal. It probably also disappeared in Angola, Mali and Nigeria, but was successfully introduced in Rwanda and Swaziland. Two subspecies, the West African giraffe and the Rothschild giraffe, are considered endangered, as only a few hundred remain in the wild.
In the photo: hyperrealistic painting of the giraffe made with oil colors on a canvas 80 cm x 60 cm by Tisha (Tiziana Sanna)