Title: A Little Smile

Collection: Little by Little

Zimbabwe Elephant Nursery, Zimbabwe. December 2019.

About:

In that moment,
Marked by the glimmer of her eye,
All her history poured out,
And into mine.

Elephants really do sense purpose. On this day I gained her trust. At first she was apprehensive. Cautious. But slowly after we spent more time spent together she began to realize why I was there - an ongoing portrait project to understand the emotions of Elephants.

This is Mana. She’s a young Elephant rescued by the Zimbabwe Elephant Nursery (ZEN) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (ifaw) late last year. Mana, along with one other Elephant “Tess”, were found totally stuck in the mud of a dried-up waterhole during a severe drought that badly affected Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe.

Her rescuers found the two Elephants totally immovable and suffering from dehydration and exhaustion. After hours of effort, they were finally able to remove them from the mud and airlift them to ZEN in the capital.

Since the rescue... they’ve both made resounding recoveries, but of course, they were shaken from the whole experience. Elephants have an enormous capacity to experience loss in their own way. Loss of loved ones is especially traumatic and you can sense it in their body language.

When I first met Mana I could literally feel the trauma she experienced, but it’s quite hard to describe, since I’m no Elephant and I never will be, so I’ll never fully understand her. But… I can try to interpret... What I could more easily recognize during my time with her is the power of her fellow Elephants to embrace. The others, rescues themselves, come together to bring up the spirit of one another. And from this ecosystem of care for one another… this is where we can learn something from Elephants. Their capacity to unconditionally look after those who they have never met before is remarkable.

Limited Edition: ONLY 250 COPIES of this portrait available exclusively through this print fundraiser.

Details: Each print includes a numbered certificate of authenticity with Donal’s signature. The certificate and the accompanying Print are authenticated by the uniquely numbered matching holograms found on both items.

Vibrant colors and only the highest quality hand-selected materials provide a unique impression of this young Elephant. Produced by theprintspace in the UK and printed on Hahnemühle Photo Rag, 320 GSM museum-grade textured paper. Archival quality guaranteed to last 80 years.

Shipping: Worldwide Standard Flat Rate typically takes 5-10 days depending on your location.

Prints are sized to fit into standard frames (with or without a matt) that are available through multinational retailers such as IKEA or any local home goods store offering frames. They can also be displayed without a frame and look just as great with the white border.

THE FUNDRAISER:

Every year in Central Africa infant Elephants become separated from their herd due to human causes – the mission of the Zimbabwe Elephant Nursery (ZEN) is to rescue, rehabilitate, and release these young spirits back into the wild once they’re strong enough to survive on their own.

As a supplement for the milk they’d normally get from their mothers, the team at ZEN has had to develop a substitute. And... Rescued Orphan Elephants Drink A LOT of Milk! 

By purchasing a limited edition print YOU will provide ZEN with funds for 15 Bottles of Milk to support infant Elephants in need during these incredibly difficult times.

Thank you for supporting Elephants <3 

Secure Delivery: Because the packages provided by the supplier are so protective, prints are rarely damaged. However, if a package does arrive damaged and the print is also damaged, you can contact me directly by email. You’ll need to photograph the package and the print and send the details to info@donalboyd.com along with your order number and tracking info.

Delivery Time: Orders ship out within 24-hours of your purchase, but can take up to 15-days to arrive, so please have patience. I'm using the trusted service of theprintspace located in London, UK. They're incredible, but only offer Flat Rate Worldwide shipping, which is limited in terms of order tracking numbers. From my experience so far with the previous print sale, everyone has received their orders, but due to COVID delays, things seems to take a bit longer than normal. Keep in mind that I'm all alone in trying to manage the print store right now, but I promise, you will get your print!

Estimated Average Shipping Times. 

• Europe: 3-5 Days
• USA & Canada: 7-9 Days
• Rest of the World: Up to 10 Days 

As a final request, please consider emailing me only after 15-days from the day you purchased. I wish I could respond to every customer with the tracking details, but it's quite overwhelming since I've received hundreds of orders during the most recent sale period. I wish the system was automated, but unfortunately it's all manual at the moment. Thank you for your patience and consideration. 

Exchanges & Returns:

Straight refunds are not accepted as these are limited editions prints, but I’m confident you’re going to love the print and cherish it forever. But if it isn’t what you expected, or it’s somehow damaged you can exchange it for free. Once the package is delivered, you’ll have 5-days to notify me via email info@donalboyd.com if the print is either damaged or if you’d like to exchange it for another of equal value. Shipping is free if the print is damaged, but if you want to exchange the print, you’ll need to cover the shipping costs, plus the cost of the prints. Unfortunately, I  cannot accept back prints that have been delivered as there is too high a risk of them being damaged or lost in the shipping. I do not keep an inventory of prints as all orders are made within 24-hours of purchase and shipped out from the print lab in London or Germany. Therefore, because I do not keep a stock, I cannot accept back prints for this reason.

Secure Payment: Card details are never stored and if using any other payment method like PayPal, I’ll never have access to any of your sensitive payment details. Everything is handled through Shopify and is fully encrypted.

What is the option to pay in instalments on Shop Pay?

When checking out with Shop Pay, you now have the option to pay now or later. Paying in instalments on Shop Pay allows you to split your purchase amount into 4 equal, biweekly instalment payments—with 0% interest, no hidden or late fees, and no impact on your credit score. In some instances, your first payment is due when you make your purchase; otherwise, your first payment is due 2 weeks after your purchase.

Are there late fees with Shop Pay?

No, there are no late fees if you miss a scheduled payment.

Which payment methods are accepted if I use the option to pay Instalments on Shop Pay?

The instalments option on Shop Pay is available on debit and credit cards.

Edition Numbers: All prints are limited edition. Once the edition sells out there is never going to be another printed. Ever. At this time I can not accommodate special requests for specific edition numbers. Although it is a common practice when purchasing through galleries and exhibitions to ask for a specific edition number, the ordering system that I currently have in place does not allow for easy modifications after the order is placed online. For artwork that has a history of sales, you may receive a random  As such, if you order two prints of the same image, you might not get consecutive edition numbers. For example, you might get Edition 5 of 15 and 1 of 15 for the same image even though you order the prints at the same time and even if the print appears to be almost sold out online. 

Any other Questions: Feel free to contact me via email: info@donalboyd.com