About John Whitaker

Parrot with Napoleon Complex

A reimagining of the Jacques Louis David portrait in the National Gallery in Washington DC.

Meticulously detailed and endlessly fascinating, this pastel drawing is remarkable for the unusually fine craftsmanship of every leaf, feather and flower.

Featuring an African Grey Parrot, widely held to be one of the most intelligent birds, this avian leader has assumed control of the weak-willed human, seen rendered in the painting on the upper right as a pet smoking a pipe.

The symbols of the original David work- the Imperial lions, and luxurious interiors have been reimagined as birds, cages, eggs and yes, birds foot trefoil covering the foreground.

The loyal dachsund has received the highest honor of the bird's Empire, the Legion de Honor, while the Parrot has prepared a petition of guardianship for the "incompetent" human. The bird's actual shadow is seen flying across the top of the print.

Although historians argue about Napoleon’s true height (between 5 feet 2 inches and 5 feet 7 inches), they agree that this propaganda campaign was responsible for the false idea behind the phrase “Napoleon Complex” or “Napoleon Syndrome.”

This drawing was created completely by hand by John Whitaker without AI or AI editing.

 The Last Dodo

The last Dodo proudly stands watch over its carefully constructed nest, failing to notice the egg-snatching snake in the lower right and the egg that has cracked and is covered in ants.

It is the moment of extinction, observed by the classic Indian symbol of the witness, in this rendering a cow. 

The flowering plants and insects are either endemic to Mauritius or chosen for their scent-the "carrion" scented flowers attract insects for pollination.

First recorded in 1598 and last seen in 1662, the dodo survived only sixty years of human contact. Made famous in Alices's Adventures Wonderland,  it is presumed that the ready availability of abundant food sources and a relative absence of predators on Mauritius caused it to become flightless.

Most closely related to the dove and pidgeon family, weighing 20-35 lbs and standing 2-2.5' in height. Likely a fast runner the dodo was reportedly long-lived (17-21 years) but succumbed to habitat loss and egg-eating animals introduced by humans.

In 2024, the new subtribe Raphina was created to include only the dodo and the Rodrigues solitaire (ext. ~1778).

This extraordinarily detailed pastel drawing shows you every single feather, frond and leaf.

This drawing was created completely by hand by John Whitaker without AI or AI editing. 

Strap Down & Transcend

Change is yours–if you choose it.

Featuring the face of Rick Scott merged with archival images of a monkey enduring simulated G-force experiments at NASA.

This piece is a discussion of willing and unwilling participants in change, animal testing, and the belief that humanity must rapidly embrace personal change to meet our individual and collective potential.

This digital collage was created without AL or AI editing.