Inspiration: Introducing: Edwina, the Echidna. I’m assuming it’s a girl since they hang around this area quite a bit, it’s extremely difficult to tell with echidnas by just looking at them, the other option would be Eddy. Either way this pint size ball of spikes is the most adorable thing to watch waddle around and if you’ve never heard an echidna sneeze to get the dirt out of its nose then your life isn’t complete yet! I had the absolute pleasure of watching this one go around the garden digging for Ants and while I was taking photos I was imagining what was going through the Ants mind…

Often referred to as the Spiny Anteater because of its diet of ants and termites, the Short-beaked Echidna has a long snout perfectly suited to inserting into nests and uses its long sticky tongue to gather hundreds of insects. Although it lacks teeth, it has a specially designed tongue that is covered with horny serrations that act as a grinding tool to consume its prey. During warmer months, their diet can consist of a variety of insects, and they can be found sheltering in rotten logs, tree stumps, caves, or burrows. 

This piece forms part of a themed collection that is focused on protected, threatened, and endangered Australian species. Through the expansion of European settlement, many species have been displaced by human encroachment, changing fire patterns, victims of predation, or have been exposed to disease. Raising awareness remains as the most significant challenge in the effort to reduce these possible outcomes. These represent the absence of the existence of wildlife in their natural environments.

This series has specifically utilised heat, flame, and soot to achieve the varying golden browns and charcoal greys present in the finished artwork.