This beautiful (somewhat haunting) portrait of a Cheetah was created by incarcerated artist - Jeremy J. Hammill; FL. Mr. Hammill specifically created it in his own inimitable style (influenced by Salvador Dali’s surrealism) as a way of paying homage to wildlife artist, J.D. Lewis’ old creations. The original drawing is 9”x12” and was created using pen, ink and graphite on Canson paper.
I contacted Mr. J.D. Lewis with whom I shared Jeremy’s drawing. Writes Mr. Lewis:
“Thanks for reaching out and your wonderful compliments about my portrait of a Cheetah/art/website. And, of course, I appreciate Jeremy’s choosing my painting as a way to pay homage to my old creations. Unfortunately, I am no longer producing wildlife art but AFB (American Foundation for the Blind) has been fabulous in trying to put me and my website on the map. My most popular print and note card is the ‘BLIND SPOTS’ print! Far outselling my wildlife about 30 to 1. I never dreamt it would become so popular”.
You see, Mr. Lewis lost nearly 95% of his eyesight and believes that blindness has served as a catalyst for positive change, thus greatly enriching his life. He admits that adjusting to blindness was not an easy journey, but nowadays, he feels more at peace and much more empowered through acceptance, learning alternative techniques, such as Braille, typing and computer screen reading software.
Thank you Jeremy! Thank you Mr. Lewis! God bless you both!
P.S. To learn a little about these magnificent big cats, click on “Cheetah”
Enjoy and blessings,
Leslie Lakes, Director