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Enid Groves’ interest in animals began in childhood with a succession
of pets. Not content to simply have them, she closely observed their behavior.
She sketched her rats and mice and hamsters, her terrier "Jigs" and
the cats and kittens. Her eye for detail sharpened in University of Colorado biology classes where
exact and detailed drawings of plankton and other microscopic creatures were
required. After graduation, Enid worked for the world’s largest taxidermy firm where
she worked directly with the reconstruction and finishing of Polar Bear
exhibits. Later, at the Museum of Science in Buffalo, New York, she labored for
five years assembling the fossilized skeleton of an Allosaurus. When the task
was completed, the Jurassic era creature was 30 feet long and 15 feet high...a
gigantic "line drawing" in fossilized bone. Enid Groves’ line drawings, etchings and prints have evolved into a happy
combination of humor and elemental body language. "I like animals", she says. "They remind me of the old silent
film stars, animating their stories with a look and a gesture. In the living
room, around the yard or on the farm, animals are the greatest, most natural
actors in the world. The speak in elegant, universal body language. Every dog is
a Barrymore and there surely must be some Theda Bara or Douglas Fairbanks in
every cat. I try to capture some of their lighter moments in my drawings. If I
have succeeded with a look, a yawn, or a busy pursuit, perhaps you will join me
in a smile of recognition... yes, I too know and like this wonderful
creature." |
