In this blog post, lemur researcher and LCN volunteer, Mateu Antich Sánchez, interviews wildlife artist Alain Rasolo at his art studio near Ranomafana National Park in Madagascar.
I’m at the entrance of Ranomafana National Park, and the lush Malagasy rainforest stands ahead of me. I’ve been studying lemurs for two months in Ranomafana, but today I won’t enter inside the forest. Just to the left of the stairs to enter the park, I see Rasolo’s art studio. Today I’ll interview him.
Good morning, Rasolo! Can you introduce yourself?
My name is Rasolo, and I’m a Malagasy wildlife artist. My preferred medium is watercolours, and I mainly paint Malagasy wildlife. More specifically, I paint the species that you find here in Ranomafana, because this is where I live.
You live in Ranomafana. Are you from here?
I grew up in a small village near Antananarivo. My family is from Fianarantsoa, the closest big town to Ranomafana. We’re from the Betsileo tribe. Ranomafana is where the Betsileo and Tanala tribes meet. I first arrived in Ranomafana in 2015, but I’ve always wanted to come here. I studied in Tamatave, a city on the eastern coast. I studied environmental sciences and biodiversity conservation.
I first came to Ranomafana when I was invited to an art and artisans workshop by Dr. Patricia Wright at Centre ValBio (CVB). Then, I was asked to work at CVB.
How and when did you start painting?
Growing up, I always did drawings and sketches. Before university, I developed some comic books and ink fillings. I drew portraits of friends from school.
But thanks to my education in conservation, I transitioned mainly to wildlife. It’s also when I started with watercolors. They’re a beautiful medium, richer and a more interesting way to paint wildlife.
After finishing my studies, I worked in Tamatave, at a zoo called Parc Ivoloina. I worked on their visual materials, mostly illustrations and graphic design. When I came to Ranomafana, I really expanded my art.
What is it like to be an artist in Madagascar?
It’s a very unique experience. Many of my friends are artists, and they do portraits or cultural landscapes. But, my studies made me focus on wildlife. I’m a niche artist. Maybe abroad, being a wildlife artist is more common, but here in Madagascar it is not.
What challenges do you face as an artist in Madagascar?
The financial situation is probably the most difficult thing for a Malagasy artist. It’s not a secure career path, and I’m sure this is true outside Madagascar, too. But as a Malagasy, it becomes an even more insecure choice, especially when doing visual art. My parents liked that I did artwork, but they wanted me to find an obvious career path away from it, and with good reasons.
I was lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time to be able to do what I like, painting Malagasy nature. I met people in need of my skills, and that helped connect me with more people, NGOs, and zoos. This allowed me to push forward in the exploration of wildlife art.
Other than Centre ValBio, what other organizations have you worked with?
I received a fellowship, the Safina Centre fellowship. They’re located in Stony Brook, Long Island, in New York. It was a three-year fellowship that ended in 2024. The motto of the centre is “advancing the case for life on earth”; all fellows come from different fields of conservation. The fellows received funds to push forward and expand our missions.
Working with the VOI Mitsinjo
This fellowship helped me to work with VOI Mitsinjo of Ambatolahy, the local community organization. I worked on some of their visual materials, similar to the work I did for Parc Ivoloina. I designed their logo, as well as some tickets and pamphlets.
I even helped them build a bridge that connects two parts of the forest they manage, one being the main forest and the other a waterfall. The bridge is 15 metres long, and we really improved their accessibility. They manage the forest just outside Ranomafana National Park. They’re trying to implement an ecotourism business.
Opening His Studio
The Safina Fellowship also helped me to open this studio, right by the Ranomafana National Park entrance. It allows me to work and sell my art to the visitors. I’m also hosting some work of the local artisans.
How is your studio going?
It’s been going on for almost three years. Sales depend on the tourism season. The space allows me to work, my view is this beautiful forest, and I can easily spend the whole day working while I wait for the tourists exiting the park. Right now is the high season, so there’s more movement. During the low season, I do some maintenance on the building.
This studio is my portfolio. You can find my artwork of lemurs, birds, and chameleons, and also some woodcarvings of my woodcarver friend, Fidi. He lives in the next village. He has some of his work here, and he also makes the frames for my paintings.
What inspires you as an artist?
It comes back to my upbringing. I grew up in a small village near Antananarivo with lots of open space, lots of trees. Since then, I’ve always enjoyed nature. When I moved to Tamatave, which is a big city, I wanted to go back to these big open spaces with more life.
Moving to Ranomafana was finding that space, the perfect spot for a wildlife artist. Just outside the door, you enter the forest and you are surrounded by trees, by lemurs, and by all the little things you could imagine. They even come to your house, and you are among them. It’s such a rich environment.
I try to reflect this beauty in my artwork. All these different colors, all these different lights, it’s just beautiful. But I’m not just inspired by the place, I’m also moved by the people interested in nature, and I do a lot of scientific illustrations. Meeting all these people interested in different topics helps you learn a lot. For example, the park guides know so much about the forest. There are unlimited subjects to paint about!
Are you worried about the natural habitats in Madagascar?
It’s a worrying thing. Habitat loss is one of the main reasons for the extinction of fauna. I’m trying to find ways to use my art as a tool to reduce that loss.
In Ranomafana, you are exposed to the challenges. You see the loss of biodiversity daily. But Ranomafana is not just the forest. This place is surrounded by villages, and these people used to live in the forest before the creation of the park. Their challenges affect the forest. I think that the best I can do as an artist is to try to reconnect people to the forest, and make them fall in love again with nature.
It’s a bit idealistic because people have needs, and conservation is sometimes distant. I would like to convince people that habitat loss affects them too. Losing the forest is losing what made us who we are. I would like my people to have that bond with nature. Of course, I can’t be some sort of judge because everyone has challenges. I would like to show people that there are opportunities beyond exploiting the forest. Through art, I can help make this connection.
Do you think art can be used as a tool for conservation?
Yes, we as conservationists are on a mission to find solutions to problems. Often, these problems derive from people’s challenges.
I believe that art is a good bridge to connect with the people living near nature. It comes down to communication, especially understanding the people’s needs. Wildlife art can be a powerful tool in this context.
What’s next in your career?
I would love to continue painting. As I’m a trained conservationist, I also have to do more to protect the forest and connect it to the people.
Me and my partner, Johanna Mitra, started an NGO called oloNala. Our motto is “the forest is our studio”. We have three main objectives right now.
Working with Communities at the Ranomafana Nature Center
Our first objective at oloNala is to work with the Ranomafana Nature Centre in the village. We worked with Erik Callender, who built the studio and the staff of the Nature Centre. There, they have lessons about animals, and we wanted to provide a creative touch to them.
We started what we call nature journaling. We provided them with sketch books and color pencils, and then, twice a month, we have a session outdoors, where we invite them to observe and draw what they see.
This improves their awareness of their surroundings. They have some trees around the centre, which are enough to host some birds, some butterflies… When they have to represent what they see, even the color choosing is learning. The staff will ask follow-up questions such as, “Do humans eat that?” to complement their learning. They develop their curiosity, and they cement this connection with the surroundings.
Working with Local VOI Associations
The second is continuing with the work with VOI, the local communities. Maybe making maps of the circuit of the forest, or developing some infrastructure near the waterfalls. We don’t want to come in and bring the projects in; we want to develop the projects with them. This hasn’t started yet.
Creating Artist Residencies in Ranomafana
The third thing is closer to my mission as a wildlife artist and conservationist. We want to start one of the first art residences in Madagascar here, in Ranomafana. The building is under construction now.
We would like to invite Malagasy artists, up to five at a time. They could be skilled artists in different styles. We want to invite them to bathe in the world of conservation, so they can see all the opportunities that exist in this field. Not just for the powerful message they could transmit, but for the financial improvement in their lives.
We hope to start artist residencies in 2026. It won’t be just teaching people how to draw wildlife, but we want to support them. For example, by providing them with materials to improve their art or supporting them with future grant applications. We are currently building a network with Malagasy and foreign artists, so in the future, they can provide opportunities, even abroad in foreign countries. It’ll be a continued effort for them.
It’s a small NGO, but we are taking steps. We are doing what we call in Malagasy, “anjara biriky”, literally add your brick to a construction. This is a good way for us to bring our share of effort to the mission of conservation.
Do you think there’s hope for the lemurs of Madagascar?
We need to be real about things. Conservation can be distant to Malagasy people. Connecting to Malagasy people can be very challenging, but they are key to protecting the lemurs. This is where the focus needs to be.
Look at Anja, for example. Their project is driven by the community, managed by them, and all the benefits are for them. From this, the forest and the lemurs are directly benefited.
How oloNala Provides Hope for Lemurs
Our mission with oloNala is to support that kind of initiative, like for example with the VOI in Ranomafana. We want to make the initiative come back to the people. The Malagasy people in the VOI used to live in the forest. But, since the creation of the Ranomafana National Park, they have had to move outside the park. This community being able to manage some part of the forest brings some justice. Now they have the opportunity and authority to manage the forest and see the benefits from it. Hopefully, soon, once the project is more developed, they can see the benefits of this.
A lot of the challenges come from the local people, but the solution is also in the local people.