In January 2010 Pollyanna made her first return journey to China in fifteen years, travelling far beyond the legendary Great Wall in search of some of the country’s most endangered species.
Initially Pollyanna braved temperatures as low as -29º, journeying to the rarely visited extreme North East corner of China. Wild Siberian Tigers have been sighted in the Hunchun Nature Reserve in the transborder area between Russia and China which provides a ‘corridor’ of habitat so tigers can disperse from Russia and repopulate areas of China where they once lived.The most iconic animal to be found in China is of course the Giant Panda – designated a ‘National Treasure’ by the Chinese Government. Pollyanna\’s main destination was The BiFengxia Giant Panda Base. Originally planned and built as a ‘training’ centre to prepare captive bred pandas for release into the wild, since the devasting eathquake it has provided sanctuary for 53 pandas relocated from the centre at Wolong.
Each panda enclosure covers at least 1,000 square meters – nine times bigger than the pens in Wolong. Pollyanna was fortunate enough to be allowed to work closely with the pandas, even sitting quietly inside their enclosures with her sketch pad. “It was such a privilidge to be so close to these beatuful creatures” Pollyanna said. “Although they could, if they wished, severely injure a human being, they are so gentle and placid. I think they must be the cutest animals ever created – with their black eyes shining out of two huge black patches of fur, and their perfectly round teddy-bear ears. I am sure very few wildlife artists have ever had the opportunity to get so close to one of the most endangered and enigmatic creatures in the world!”
During her 2011 painting expedition into China Pollyanna completed a daily sketch journal recording her experiences
On the spot sketches, drawings and a day by day first person account of the close encounters with tigers and pandas make up the journal’s pages.
The journal provides a unique opportunity to view the sketches and notes which Pollyanna makes while out on expedition, which then provide the inspiration for the paintings which she completes back in the studio.
The journal has been published in exact replica as a signed limited edition softback book, available exclusively through Pollyanna’s gallery
Only 350 books will be produced
each is individually numbered and signed by Pollyanna
