Carla Grace is a wildlife artist, specialising in acrylic paint. Her ‘uninvited’ series is a particular favourite of mine. ‘The uninvited’ consists of a series of paintings she created of wild animals in which she would imagine inviting them all to a dinner party. The paintings show the animals, devouring red meat, breaking delicate cutlery, or bringing party gifts. The rhino is a particular favourite of mine. For such a large, strong animal, Carla has portrayed it as quite delicate and calm, carrying a flower in his mouth. Carla described the narrative of the Rhino piece as follows: “Despite all his efforts, our rhino was unable to carry the Hostess Gift all the way without trouble. By the time he arrived for dinner, the bouquet was destroyed, and he couldn't help but feel bashful about the failed attempt to impress.” The Rhino is a big contrast to the Lion, who has knocked over his empty glass of wine and has devoured all his food. Carla has written a text of what she believed the lion would say after his experience at the dinner party; “I assumed it was acceptable for me to arrive when it suited me best. However, the stain of red liquid across the table showed me that my time was not wasted spending it elsewhere. Needless to say, the remnants of what appear to be appetisers left much to be desired. I am, and always will be, a king. Should I be invited to anything like this in the future I expect that my reception will be better suited to my status. Severely Unimpressed.” - The King. I really like how Carla creates the contrast of light and dark in her paintings, It is very dramatic with the shadows being completely black and hidden, and the parts of the animal which are hit by the light are almost glowing. Having watched some videos by Carla Grace on Instagram I learnt she achieves the depth of her paintings by first creating a base layer, and then building lots of layers of fur with acrylic paint, glazing when she needs to.