New work of art created for Save The Chimps sanctuary

"Keep on going and going" is the most recent oil painting in David F. Heatwole's Shifting Fields series, completed November 2023. This piece was created to raise funds for an organization called Save the Chimps.

The Energizer Bunny toy is shown in the piece beating on his drum beside two chimpanzees. The most noticeable is the chimp that is abstractly on the left and impacted by the rabbit's constant drumming. The other chimp, depicted in a more lifelike painting, is located on the far right and appears about to drop into a portal or possible black hole.

Although the meaning of the painting is left up to the viewer, the artist claims that its title is a message to the organization for the excellent work they are doing to aid animals that have been kept in captivity for the sole purpose of testing products on them in laboratories—a practice that Heatwole agrees is wrong. The title is an obvious play on the famous battery company's theme. Although the subject is not new, this organization is relatively new to the artist. However, when the artist was roughly eight, David wrote a message to Big Blue Marble, a well-known news program on public television geared toward elementary school students. His letter was written in response to a story they produced about testing cosmetics on chimpanzees. His letter was read out on national television. It was the first time he had experienced celebrity for a cause he believed in sincerely.

This painting will be for sale to raise money for the Florida based sanctuary at the Spectrum Miami Art Fair December 6-10,2023.