A Virginia artist is selling paintings of wildlife to raise money for The Nature Conservancy. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
Cris Arbo is a fine artist and illustrator from Buckingham County who works in acrylic paint, colored pencil, and pen and ink. She describes the style of her intricate renderings of animals and natural scenes as –
CRIS ARBO: Detail freak! … Yeah, I just can't stop! [laughs]
Arbo is selling paintings on cedar wood for $100 each, with all proceeds going to charity. She calls the collection "Cris's Creatures."
ARBO: Years and years ago, I started painting those little creatures on cedars just to give as gifts. And then when Russia invaded Ukraine, I was like, "oh man, there's got to be something we can do to help." … So we raised almost $10,000 for Doctors Without Borders, selling those little guys.
There are 18 available at the moment, including a brilliant indigo bunting singing from a tree branch, and a mesmerizing American lady butterfly visiting a flower. She chose The Nature Conservancy as the next beneficiary –
ARBO: Oh, just 'cause I love them. I've been supporting them for years, and it just drives me crazy to see how people just don't care for the Earth. … I wanted to do something more to help.
Local residents may also recognize Arbo's work from her murals at public libraries in Farmville and Buckingham County. And she's illustrated several children's books, including the award-winning "The Dandelion Seed’s Big Dream," which was written by her husband, Joseph Patrick Anthony, and features scenes from Charlottesville.
Click here to view or purchase the paintings on Ebay.
