Cecil the Lion Killed: As the Cecil the lion controversy exploded all over the world, death threats and insults took over Facebook and Twitter. Journalists lined up to cover a fiery debate over hunting in Africa. Wildlife artist Ryan Kirby immortalized Cecil the Lion in a new painting.

"I'm a hunter, and proud to say so. I felt that Cecil needed to be painted not as a lethargic cat lying around for tourists to photograph, but as he truly was - Africa's greatest hunter," Kirby said in a statement.

Kirby will donate 100% of proceeds from his "Cecil the Hunter" painting to help provide clean water to the people of Africa through the Wine to Water organization.

The people of Africa were overlooked in the Cecil the lion saga. Renowned wildlife artist Ryan Kirby began to paint.

"By the time he was finished, Cecil was brilliantly immortalized forever," reads the press statement. "Cecil The Hunter," the original oil on canvas painting took Kirby nearly a week to complete and depicts a proud and massive Cecil, standing over a freshly killed kudu."

Kirby is a lifelong outdoorsman and conservationist.

"Cecil wasn't a furry little pet, or endangered or helpless," Kirby said. "He was a wild beast. He killed for food, for territory and for conquest."

"I decided to auction the painting on eBay and donate 100 percent of the proceeds to a charity to benefit the people of Africa," said Kirby.

Kirby chose Wine to Water, a non-profit organization that's dedicated to bringing clean drinking water to remote areas of the world, and whose founder, Doc Hendley, was featured as a CNN Hero in 2009.

"If the money raised from my painting can make a difference in just one life, I believe it can do more for my fellow man than all the hashtags, online petitions and death threats ever will," says Kirby.

"This is a one-of-a-kind original oil painting of the most famous lion in history and I believe that together with the winning bidder, we have the opportunity to change the world."

The proceeds from the auction of "Cecil The Hunter" will be used by Wine To Water in rural Africa.

The auction is currently live and scheduled to end at 7:00 AM on Aug. 22.