Newfoundland Pine Marten - Animal Art Painting

This cute animal art painting of the Newfoundland Pine Marten only has the dimensions of 25 by 20cm, which gives more understanding of the accuracy of the brushes strokes to achieve this level of detail in oil paint . Elle Smith produces a realistic 'portrait' of this sadly endangered species in a compact art painting in oils.

The pine marten is a descendant of the weasel, and is related to the 'wolverine', which most associate with wolves or bears falsely, when in fact they too are members of the weasel family, The Newfoundland pine marten is genetically quite distinct from other pine martens due to being isolated geographically and reproductively from mainland pine martens for over 7,000 years. 

The Newfoundland Pine Marten is very territorial and is only found in a 13,000 square kilometre area in the western region of Newfoundland in Canada. Many of you will recognise this island as being about 400 miles away from where the Titanic sunk on 5 April 1912 at 02.40am, approximately three hours after striking at iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton. This offers some indication of the climate on this island, and the diverse eating habits of the Newfoundland Pine Marten, who will east almost anything being omnivorous in nature.

During summertime this endangered species is truly in its element enjoying up to 16 hours of playtime, to satisfy its mischievous and very excitable nature. Their behaviour is very similar to a house cat in that they are curious and love to play.

The species is endangered and has been protected since 1934, but despite various efforts, the numbers continue to decline. There are believed to be around 300 left in this species. The reasons for their decline can be aligned to: -

• Disease;
• Loss of habitation;
• Deforestation;
• Poaching for their thick, shiny fur;
• Accidentally being trapped whilst other animals are hunted.

This animal art painting captures the spirit and personality of the Newfoundland Pine Marten with its christmas snow globe. Stylish and colourful, this tiny art painting is lovely replica of this sadly endangered animal. An informative and educational short video is available on YouTube to provide some footage and information about this species. Please check and sign up to the Inspired By Elle YouTube video channel to access this multimedia, where you can view informative and interesting videos about most of the animal art paintings on this website.

Oil on Canvas, 10 by 8 inches (25 by 20cm)