This is Tatu, he's originally a Jersey gorilla now living in Oklahoma City Zoo with his family. He's related to some of the other gorillas I've drawn - Zaire is his sister, Asili is his neice, making him great uncle to Asili's daughters Mjukuu & Kumili. No obvious family resemblence there, but if you look at this portrait of Asili's dad (known as 'Jersey Kumba', to differentiate from the other Kumba in that same family!) painted by Willem De Beer you can see that the two brothers looked very alike. Same lop-sided scowl!

Unfortunately Jersey Kumba is no longer with us, so it's nice that he was immortalised in this portrait, which hangs in Burnt Stub Mansion at Chessington (where Kumba was silverback of his group when the portrait was commissioned). I never knew him, but recently met someone who knew the the Jersey babies of that time very well (raising those who weren't by raised their natural gorilla parents), she told me that Jersey Kumba was particularly intelligent, and Willem De Beer once told me that he remembers his subject being very grumpy! (& I've heard similar accounts from other keepers who knew Kumba!) Sounds like his personality lives on in his daughter, the very clever and occasionally very grumpy Asili :-)
Willem De Beer's website can be found here: http://www.willemsdebeer.com/

You should join in.
Click on this image for more info

I'll be taking a print of this portrait of Kumba ('Old Man') to be included in the charity auction at the 2010 International Gorilla workshop (this time hosted by Oklahoma City Zoo). All money raised at the auction goes to gorilla charities. Lets hope it raises lots.
I think I love this painting more than any other I've done, I think I painted into it all of the emotional attachment I feel for Kumba himself, it might not be visible to anyone else but I see it every time I look at it :-)

Still a fair way to go go until this portrait of Zaire is finished, but it's nice to see it starting to take shape now that I've added a bit of detail (scroll down to find previous post of this portrait):

On Sun 4th July I'll be abseiling 100ft down the side of Kings College Hospital in London dressed in a gorilla suit. If you'd like to know more, or would like to sponsor me to help raise money for the Gorilla Organization please click on the 'donate' button below
(the link takes you to my online donations page, you won't be committed to make a donation until you've filled in all your details & confirmed)