Crocodile Creatures by Rae Maté
“These Crocs are romantic, charming, and nurturing caregivers to little Crocs”
I don’t think I’ve ever smiled like that while being caught in a downpour but then again, Crocodiles don’t mind the water. I probably wouldn’t mind the rain so much with a raincoat and rubber boots like what these Crocs are sporting. I wonder if they’re singing “Crocodile Rock.”
This was the first Rae Maté painting I saw, and it led me to find the others.
It’s nice to see these reptiles portrayed in an affectionate light, or should I say moonlight? The moon seems very touched by the Crocs dancing. I like to think that their bellies are full of pasta and sweet wine.
It looks like this Croc is being serenaded by the little bird while it stands on her nose on this beautiful spring or summer day.
She’s taking in the fragrance of a lovely flower bouquet!
What a lovely day for Mom and Dad to take the little Crocs out for a stroll by the water. The daughter seems to be impressing her father with her balancing skills and the son has captured his mother’s attention. He may have just pitched his baseball across the field.
About the Artist
Rae Maté is a Vancouver-born artist and illustrator of six children’s picture books such as Crocs at Work, Crocodiles Play! And Crocodiles Say… While attending the University of British Columbia, Rae first published her work with a pen and ink portrait of a young man who would become her husband, Gabor Maté, to whom she has been married for 53 years.
This was an assignment she took on when the campus newspaper, The Ubyssey, posted an ad for political cartoonists. After briefly taking art classes at Langara College in 1982, Rae graduated from Emily Carr College of Art and Design in 1986 with a diploma in drawing and painting.
Rae’s favorite themes are still life/flowers, women and children, abstractions, landscapes, expressive cats, dogs, and friendly crocodiles.
“Why Crocodiles? I’m often asked. The influences are rich and varied: Partly autobiographical (so many brilliant childhood songs and stories about charming/dangerous crocodiles) and partly psychological (Dad had big green eyes and a fantastic smile, but he could really SNAP at us kids). Spiritual too (playing with the Buddhist notion of attachment and appetite.)
The early art school crocodiles were fantastical beasts and girls would ride them or feed them flowers but over the years I think I have tamed with love. Having enormous appetites for ice cream, music, and flowers, these Crocs are romantic, charming, and nurturing caregivers to little Crocs. They are bon vivants and enthusiasts, like me”! — Rae Maté
Sources Cited
About — Rae Maté Artist, Vancouver Canada (raemate.com)
Song referenced: Crocodile Rock — Wikipedia
