Distinctly Montana Magazine

W W W. D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A . C O M 49 About John Banovich's Wildscapes Foundation The mission of Wildscapes is to foster cooperative efforts to conserve the earth's wildlife and wild places benefitting the animals and people that live there. We accomplish this in three ways: 1) Supporting important science research and education. 2) Protecting large conservation landscapes. 3) Finding ways to benefit community development. I founded BWF because I saw there was a chasm between the sportsman conservationists and the conservationist environmental- ists. Prior to the 1960's, these individuals and groups worked, for the most part, in tandem on environmental and conservation issues. Today you see the groups working independently because of differences in fundamental beliefs that either wildlife is a resource to be used, or wildlife should have individual rights and be protected at all costs…even at the cost of the species as a whole. The reality is that wildlife must be utilized, both consumptively and non-consumptively (depending on the landscape), and local people must benefit from its presence. If not, the wildlife will disappear. I call this the second inconvenient truth. Today wildlife must pay in order to stay. In an ever-exploding human population of over seven billion and growing, wildlife must bring value to communities; it must com- pete economically with other land use choices. In the future these Wildscapes will become more valuable than anything we have, more valuable than anything that can grow on them, anything that can be built on them, or anything that can be extracted from underneath. If the animals continue to be poached, removed and exploited for whatever reason, they will go extinct and we humans will lose a part of ourselves. the African safari with a grazing herd of elephants; however, the main focus is that of the hulking female elephant that is thunder- ing toward the viewer with only a few feet to spare before contact. e piece transports the viewer to the last terrifying moments Siebel faced before the elephant struck. is painting will always be one of the most personal works I have ever created. It took exten- sive research to accurately portray the profound event that changed Tom's life forever and the painting will tell the story for generations to come. PAINTING SEEMS TO MANY TO BE SO SUBLIME, YET YOU HAVE SAID THAT "THE PROCESS OF PAINTING DOES NOT ENRAPTURE ME — THAT BLISSFUL FEELING ENDS ONCE THE CONCEPT IS SET IN MY MIND. THEN THE PROCESS BECOMES ARDUOUS." DOES THE ACT OF PAINTING SEEM MORE A WORK OR A JOY? Creating the work in your mind is the pinnacle of the process. I can see the image, as I stare at the blank surface, its details, edges, values, and hues flawless and set upon a perfect composition. Once I have it sketched out on the canvas ready to go, discipline comes in. is is especially true for a large canvas as it may take months to complete and physically tests my endurance, even for a former Mr. Montana bodybuilder! WHO IS JOHN BANOVICH IS IN JUST SEVEN WORDS? A tormented artist searching for the soul of his subjects. Cold Air Deep Powder Debt Collector

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