Inspiration: The Mountain Pygmy Possum is one of the most adorable pint-sized possums I've ever heard of. Their babies are so small they could wrap around the tip of your finger. With the ever-changing weather patterns bringing the irregularity of snow, it seems their whole world just hangs in the balance. I wanted to depict a question: What if the snow doesn't fall this year?

Being nocturnal and secretive, the Mountain Pygmy Possum is found only in alpine and subalpine regions above 1400 m among the snow boulder fields. As it is the only marsupial to hibernate, it requires a continuous period of snow cover for up to six months. It was considered to be extinct until rediscovered at a ski lodge in 1966. Since that time it has faced many challenges with the development of ski resorts, human encroachment, predation by  foxes, and climate change. Now listed as Critically Endangered, research through local groups, government, and several zoo captive breeding programs are driving efforts to repopulate the species. 

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 had a foundation of watercolour painted on the sketch to create a more accurate depiction of the subject. In addition, soot was utilised to achieve the variety of charcoal greys present in the finished artwork.