Dear WAJ Faithful,


Let us tell you a story.

It's about a Black man.

An African Black man.

A Zimbabwean, native born, his country before independence once called Rhodesia.

A mighty Ndebele from a tribe of warriors, his chisel today is more potent and farther reaching than a spear.  His name is Mopho Gonde.

Gonde and a fellow white countryman, Ross Parker, now an American, share a common horror in watching the nation they love torn apart by corruption, brutality, and greed.

Once upon a time, their sentiments might have resided on opposite sides of a civil war.

Gonde is a wildlife artist.

Think about it, how many conventional Black African wildlife artists do you know? 

The problem isn't that there are few Black wildlife artists—there are actually many;  the challenge is that all of us need to expand and evolve the very definition of what wildlife art is if it is to command respect in the world.



Parker is Gonde's gallery representative and, in very real terms, his lifeline to the outside world. Together, as friends, they see the destruction of animal icons and habitat in Africa as a lens for understanding the severity of an ongoing humanitarian crisis.

The paradox is that political conditions hamper artistic expression yet it is artistic expression that reminds the rest of the world that Zimbabwe is a country worth saving.  It deserves our attention.

A year ago when we launched Wildlife Art Journal, it was with the realization that many art magazines have no heart, no soul, no edge.  It's all about and only about retail.

Of course, you know better and so do we.

In North America, wildlife art and more broadly, nature art, had no voice entirely devoted to celebrating wildness and the artists who savor it. 

We're as interested in the stories and backstories of artists as the art they create.  For a taste of the kind of diversity that's out there, see our latest Gallery of the Commons and read the essay by David Trapnell on England's Nature in Art, our story about the National Museum of Wildlife Art, the pieces on Robert Bateman and David Shepherd and our ongoing Five Questions/Five Art Works.

We celebrate the galleries that operate with a similar spirit and see their role as enhancing appreciation for the genre as well as educating collectors and serving as venues for getting the public fired up about art.  It goes without saying that we celebrate the museums and artist organizations and conservation entities who grasp the confluence between art, nature and human quality of life.

One question you may ask is:  Why online?

Certainly, we, too, enjoy the feel of holding a paper magazine in our hands.   But there are limits to print.

Online has given us an incredible reach to artists and collectors around the world in lightning speed.  It enables us to stay fresher and more topical and immediate than any of the other magazines dabbling with the same subject matter.  It has allowed us to give you more stories and images, feature more artists, and cover more ground than any of our competitors.  The works of over 850 artists are in our archives, and we're only getting started.

Our goal is to eventually launch a corresponding WAJ print edition, but you understand the challenges when you see the impact of the economy on galleries and the ever-slim editorial well in printed magazines that are on the stands.

Wildlife Art Journal isn't receding;  it's expanding.  And we're thankful to be meeting with your approval and enthusiasm.

The best part is that we've made subscribing easy, safe and reliable, no matter where you are in the world.  And with our special introductory rate of $12/year ($1/month) , you won't find a better investment in entertainment.

Here is a fact:  There is a lot of free stuff on the internet, but like a work of art, you get what you pay for.  Quality, concentrating your interests in one site, giving you a convenient reach beyond provincialism, and packaging it in a way that makes the content relevent to your life, requires care and vision. 

To continue, we need to have you support us.  Your subscriptions matter.  So do the ads you buy.  Our rates are intended to be affordable.  Our ads help artists and galleries elevate their profiles, drive traffic to their sites and they are viewed far beyond the range of regional magazines.  Like you, we are a blend of old-school and new-school, reaching across the divide in both directions to an artistic community where digital exploration is second nature and those who are older that are learning how and why they need to be plugged in.

What you get as an added benefit when you join the international network of artists and collectors coming to WAJ, is that you join a passionate international community that wants to stay in touch.  It's an amazing thought to be thinking that artists in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, London, Paris, Stockholm, Mumbai,  Mombasa, Johannesburg, Buenos Aires, Sydney, and Tokyo can all be reading the same new WAJ  feature within seconds of it being posted.

Artists, and the people to whom their work has appeal, pride themselves on being at the leading edge of expression, understanding and commentary. 

Join us by clicking here to subscribe.

We're only a year old and we have many exciting things in store.  Help us support your passion for nature.

Jared Swanson—Publisher
Todd Wilkinson—Editor
Anna Dingman—Graphic Arts Director