In this post I’m going to be adding the animal activist artwork that I’m making and hoping to do more of. Animal activism about endangered animals, animals rights, veganism, speciesism, animal abuse prevention, spay and neuter to prevent pet over-population etc… those are the causes nearest and dearest to my heart.
I recently created a few pieces on my phone either drawing with my finger or with a cheap stylus. I enjoy working on my phone, especially when I’m tired or not feeling well which seems to be the only time I have time for art these days. Soon I would like to get a better tablet and stylus but for now I make do with what I have. Sometimes the challenge is part of the process. Also some of these are just sketches/ideas for a time when I can translate them into real paintings or more finished art. I do kind of like the difficulty of working on my phone also because sometimes the rougher the execution, the better the art (think of Basquiat). Earlier this year I was painting some animal themed paintings but I got tired of breathing the fumes so until I get a separate art studio I’m not going to paint anymore.
I have a project website called Fellow Creatures, where I post info and links about animal and human rights and care. I also post some of my activist artwork and designs there.
I’ve been trying to create designs about endangered animals and about spay and neuter etc… for many years but took a break from it when my life got too complicated. I did put some pet and animal related designs on Zazzle several years ago. Of course it’s much more fun to create artwork that is pretty, funny, cool, sexy etc… than it is to make art that actually makes people think and makes a strong statement about animal rights and other important issues, but art that is fun usually doesn’t make the world a better place. Perhaps if I get better at activist art, it would be fun, but for now it involves researching things that are depressing (like animal cruelty and poaching) and complicated, like trying to figure out what the solutions are and how to motivate people to stop being part of the problem and/or to get involved in the solution.
I know this is may not be the way for everyone, but I’ve come to the conclusion that life is not really meant to be fun, nor even necessarily enjoyed. Happiness is fleeting. Joy, fun and happiness is for babies and children. Some doctors think they can just give people pills to cure their depression, but it seems to me they are just giving people a false happiness and in the process are supporting themselves and the pharmaceutical companies by enslaving their patients with addictive anti-depressants that take away their personalities and natural feelings. I’m sure anti-depressants help some people, I’ve never taken them so I’m not speaking from experience, they scare me though, I’d rather be depressed, I know why I’m depressed, there’s a lot to be sad about in this world (like animal cruelty). Some people think they can cure a person’s sadness by forcing them into more human interaction, but most vegans are lonely for a reason. Ethical vegans have values that non-vegans simply don’t understand and sadly probably never will. Trying to socially interact deeply with people who don’t have the same ethics can be impossible on a long term basis. Adult life for me is about trying to make the world a better place, trying to help prevent humans from harming each other, the animals and the planet and it’s also about mere survival. I imagine most people will disagree with my point of view on that but for me the pursuit of happiness has made me unhappy. Accepting that life is hard and will always be hard no matter my circumstances is what works for me. Maybe when things get better for me (or the animals) someday if they ever do I will feel differently. Life is hard, life is cruel, life is beautiful but for some reason few of us can ever fully enjoy it’s beauty due to life’s challenges. That is one of the cruelties of life. Think of the animals raised for food. Most of them live their whole life in a barn, never getting to run free, they are all probably in some sort of physical pain from having their beaks or teeth clipped, their horns removed, their tails chopped off (with no anesthetic), the milking machines attached, being force fed etc… They are all probably depressed and tortured by their captivity, by having their babies taken from them, by their abuse. Then after all that suffering, they are slaughtered. As long as they are unhappy, why should I be happy? I am happy I am not one of them, but what kind of happiness is that?
I have been happier since I’ve been vegan than I had been previously. I’d wanted to stop eating meat since I was 16 years old but for various reasons I was never successful at it for very long until a few years ago when I succeeded at being vegan. Before I became vegan I disliked myself for being an animal lover hypocrite who continued to eat meat. I even had the audacity to judge other people who ate meat even though I continued to eat meat myself. Now I just try not to judge or dislike people who eat meat and dairy because I know they were conditioned to do so by their families, by society and by the businesses who profit from animal product consumption. That is why vegan animal activists and artwork is so important. We need to spread the word that a vegan world is a kinder world and that animals are not on this earth for humans to consume, abuse and/or to profit from.
Thanks for looking,
Elizabeth Montague
Last Chance for Animals
