Celebrating the beauty and resilience of wildlife through art, stories, and action. Paint the Jewels™ brings communities together to meet local wildlife, paint their stories, and help protect them and their habitats.
Paint the Jewels
by Wildlife Jewels®
Paint the Jewels™ is a Wildlife Jewels® community art program that brings people together to paint the wildlife that make each place special—our living “jewels.” Through guided, artist-led painting experiences, participants connect with local wildlife, learn real stories from the field, and contribute to collaborative artworks inspired by animals observed in each location.
About the Program
Paint the Jewels is part of Wildlife Jewels®’ broader Paint for Wildlife arts Meet Our Jewels education programs.
Each Paint the Jewels experience is:
Place-based — inspired by wildlife from a specific bay, lagoon, coastline, or habitat
Artist-led — featuring original line art and designs created by the Wildlife Jewels® artist
Collaborative — participants paint designated sections of a shared community artwork
Educational — grounded in real wildlife observations, conservation challenges, and stewardship stories
The finished artwork becomes part of the Jewels of [Place] series and may be displayed at future community events, exhibitions, or educational programs.
From Antarctica to the California Coast
Paint the Jewels is designed to be adaptable across places—celebrating wildlife from Antarctica to California, including coastal and wetland ecosystems such as San Dieguito Lagoon, Newport Bay, and La Jolla.
The animals featured in our artwork are inspired by Wildlife Jewels® field observations, community monitoring, and local wildlife stories. Many pieces reflect species we’ve observed repeatedly in the area, and some are connected to real rescue and response efforts, helping communities better understand both the beauty of wildlife and the importance of protecting it.
Ways to Experience Paint the Jewels
Community Paint the Jewels Events
Free, all-ages painting experiences offered at public community events and celebrations. These are often hosted in partnership with conservancies, parks, cities, and nature centers.
Purpose: Access, inclusion, and community connection to local wildlife.
Partner-Hosted Paint the Jewels Collaborations
Paint the Jewels is offered in collaboration with aligned partners such as lagoons, bays, conservancies, museums, schools, and nonprofits.
Events may be sponsor-supported, grant-funded, or cost-shared, depending on the partnership.
Purpose: Expand reach through trusted partners while supporting conservation education.
Paint the Jewels Workshops
More structured, small-group workshops designed for deeper learning and artistic exploration.
Workshops may include:
Longer instruction time
Smaller group sizes
Advanced techniques or individual canvases
Purpose: Skill-building, deeper engagement, and program sustainability.
Educational & Private Workshops
Customized Paint the Jewels programs are available for schools, after-school programs, camps, universities, adult education, and private group bookings.
Purpose: Tailored education and hands-on conservation learning.
Who It’s For
Paint the Jewels programs are designed for:
Families and youth (with parent/guardian participation)
Students and educators
Community groups and volunteers
Nature lovers and art enthusiasts of all experience levels
No prior art experience is required.
Artwork & Participation
Paint the Jewels is a collaborative art experience.
Wildlife Jewels® creates the original artwork design and retains ownership of the finished piece. Participants contribute to a shared canvas as part of a guided, community-created work that supports wildlife education and conservation.
Photography and video may be captured during events to help share the story of the artwork and the wildlife it represents.
Artist & Curator
Paint the Jewels is artist-led and curated by Azi Sharif, Executive Director of Wildlife Jewels®, drawing from Wildlife Jewels field observations, conservation work, and real wildlife stories.
Why It Matters
Art has the power to slow us down, open our eyes, and deepen our care for living wildlife.
Paint the Jewels:
Encourages empathy for wildlife through creativity
Connects communities to the places they live and visit
Inspires stewardship through shared experience
Supports Wildlife Jewels® conservation, rescue, education and outreach programs
Get Involved
Join an upcoming Paint the Jewels event, partner with us to host a workshop, or support the program through sponsorship or collaboration.
Check out our Upcoming Events Page or contact us to bring Paint the Jewels to your community.
*Program & Trademark: Wildlife Jewels®, Paint for Wildlife™, Meet Our Jewels™, Paint the Jewels™, and Jewels of [Place] are programs and trademarks of Wildlife Jewels®. All rights reserved.
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![Paint the Jewels of La Jolla]()
Paint the Jewels of La Jolla
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![Paint the Jewels of the World]()
Paint the Jewels of the World
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![Paint the Jewels of Newport Bay]()
Paint the Jewels of Newport Bay
Explore Our Jewels by Location
Travel from icy continents to vibrant bays and coastal cliffs, discovering wildlife we’ve met, photographed, and transformed into educational art and conservation programs — along with a few whose remarkable stories have inspired us from afar.
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Jewels of Antarctica
Shedding light on the magical jewels of Antarctica — precious wildlife from krill to penguins, seabirds, whales, and other Southern Ocean species — whose beauty, stories, and survival inspire our art and conservation work.
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Jewels of Newport Bay
Shedding light on the magical jewels of Newport Bay — a vibrant coastal treasure home to endangered Ridgway’s Rails, elegant egrets, graceful pelicans, and over 200 bird species. Its thriving wetlands and nursery waters teem with fish, invertebrates, and dazzling shorebirds — whose beauty, stories, and survival inspire our art and conservation work.
Jewels of La Jolla
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Shedding light on the magical jewels of La Jolla — a breathtaking coastal haven where sea lions bask on rocky shores, harbor seals rest along the coves, cormorants and pelicans glide over the waves, and shorebirds forage along the tide line. From kelp forests and sea caves to tide pools alive with marine life—and seasonal visitors like migrating whales and leopard sharks—La Jolla’s wildlife, beauty, stories, and resilience inspire our art, education, and conservation work.
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Jewels of San Dieguito River Valley
Jewels of San Dieguito River Valley is a Wildlife Jewels® “Meet Our Jewels” community arts program—bringing people together to create art inspired by the area’s unique wildlife, paired with real stories and local observations.
Shedding light on the magical jewels of the San Dieguito River Valley — a living corridor where river, wetlands, and uplands meet. Home to stately Great Blue Herons, graceful Great and Snowy Egrets, the endangered Ridgway’s Rail hidden in the marsh, and a rich tapestry of songbirds and shorebirds. Along the trails and sun-warmed edges, reptiles like the Pacific Rattlesnake remind us of the valley’s wild heart. From flowing waters to sage scrub hillsides, these species’ beauty, stories, and survival inspire our art, education, and conservation work.
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Jewels of San Diego
From wild coasts to mountain peaks, we’ve met bears, coyotes, eagles, and countless native species in their wild homes.
Upcoming Paint the Jewels Events
Wildlife Jewels Paint for Wildlife — World Wildlife Day
Paint the Jewels of the World
When: Saturday February 28th at 2:00 PM
Where: Newport Beach Civic Center Park
Celebrate World Wildlife Day by joining our Paint the Jewels of the World community collaborative painting!
Wildlife Jewels World Wildlife Day Celebration — La Jolla
Paint the Jewels of La Jolla
When: Saturday March 6 at 2:00 PM
Where: La Jolla Cove
Wildlife Jewels invites you to join us and paint the Jewels of La Jolla!
Stay tuned for more info and registration link!
Presented by Wildlife Jewels EYES™ and Jewels of La Jolla
“Wildlife living freely in their natural habitats are more precious to me than any precious stones, that is why I came up with the name of Wildlife Jewels® . Sadly wildlife face growing devastating human induced threats. In 2023, I founded Wildlife Jewels®, a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization with a mission to protect wildlife through actionable and ambitious conservation initiatives, innovative educational programs, multi-disciplinary collaborations and global partnerships with diverse entities. Thank you for supporting and joining our wildlife-loving community at Wildlife Jewels®. “
Azi Sharif, Founder & Executive Director at Wildlife Jewels
Events
Explore our conservation, beach cleanup, and wildlife exploration events while engaging with our dynamic educational & outreach programs featuring workshops, webinars, newsletters, art showcases, fashion shows, presentations, and community engagement, all dedicated to wildlife conservation awareness.
Would you like to make a donation?
Wildlife Jewels is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and operates on donations. Your contribution is tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Would you be interested in making a tax-deductible contribution to express your support for our mission to protect wildlife from human-caused threats?