“A Day Out With Mom”

Black Rhino Mother and Baby, sculpted in oil based clay and cast in bronze; sculpt and cast completed in 2026.

This piece was inspired by the rhino moms with their babies I was lucky enough to see on safari. I wanted to capture their special bond. In the wild, black rhino babies follow closely behind their mothers. The mothers defend their babies fiercely. They are very sweet together, it is an amazing sight to see.

This originally started as a miniature study, but I liked how it was turning out so much I decided to fully flesh out the details of the sculpt. One of my favorite parts was adding the rhino foot prints in the mud, showing the big footprints the little baby rhino will fill some day. I also loved getting to sculpt the rhinos tails which are surprisingly expressive— the mother raises hers like a little tour guide flag for the baby to follow !

Gallery below