I’ve just completed two paintings that I’ve been wanting to try my hand at for a very long time – hide art. The paintings are done in acrylic on wild boar hide strung onto ash wood frames. The process of fetching the wood from the forest, carrying it home, debarking it, drying it, painting the hides, making the frames and stringing the hides took many, many months but it was worth it. They seriously look impressive.
These skins are the biggest I could get, which isn’t anywhere near the size boar grow to but after a couple of years of age boar hide becomes untannable due to the hair turning into thick bristles (I had enough problem with them growing on the inside of the skin…). Size-wise, the paintings are over a metre square. the rear of the paintings has the full hair of the animals. They were shot and tanned locally. I probably ate them at some point.
While doing them I felt a real connection to our ancestors.
This is another tick on my bucket list of to-do’s…..
Update – The second painting came joint first in the regional art competition and has now gone on to county level…
