Sleeping badgers | my painting story

I have watched badgers for years but it wasn't until I built an underground sett rigged with hidden cameras that I learned what happens when these mammals disappear below ground.

Click here to read more about how I built a badger sett in my garden

I offered to help rehabilitate three rescued badger cubs in this sett and this gave me the opportunity to study their behaviour closely. It was amazing to see the cubs fight and play but what really interested me was how, when they were asleep and at rest, the three curled up together. They would finish playing, yawn, and then fall asleep their limbs all intertwined. I knew from watching badgers above ground that these mammals spend a lot of time grooming one another and that this behaviour is an important way of affirming their social bonds, but now I learned that sleeping together is also an important part of the process. And it is vital that they have a strong bond because this is how badgers stick together as a unit.

Sleeping as a circle is also a very effective way of retaining body heat. The way their bodies intertwined to form a circle inspired a new painting. Watch the following to see how I approach this subject - a very different painting to my usual style. Normally I paint badgers outside playing, but these ones are inside at rest.

Click on the image to watch it as I paint and to learn more about the story behind the cubs that inspired this: 

 

 

The Finished Painting | Sleeping Badgers

Badgers Sleeping | Original Acrylic Painting | Available Here

My Paintings of Badgers - Inspired by the Secret World of Badgers

The following paintings were also inspired by my experience of watching badgers in my artificial sett. 

 

Read More:

Click on the link below to read about how I built an artificial badger sett and find out what I learned about these secretive animals.

https://www.robertefuller.com/hidden-cameras-reveal-the-secret-world-of-badgers/