Favourite Bird Artist (1 Viewer)

[Azzy]

I like Jeremy Boot, I have a card from my sister with his illustration of a nankeen kestrel on it. Beautiful birds. I also saw some beautiful maxwell and williams mugs in myers the other day with native bird art on them, I wanted them all. Can't recall the artist name though. Actually, just found her http://www.katherinecastle.com.au/

 

[ChrissyM]

U's always had a dirty mind Nick, but that statement is absolutely priceless, I nearly choked myself!

I was reading it in my lunch at work ~ tea all over the monitor!

 

[Masolini]

Always been a big R.B Talbot Kelly fan myself...and of course...Ennion!

ps...Chloë...[Talbot K's daughter]...and Alex...[her son]..have had a picture framing business in Leicester for a long time...

pps....Alex is an excellent vocalist by the way...[have been to a few of his gigs]...great bloke too...!

Hi, I came across this thread researching Chloë and Alex on the web. Just thought those of you who know them might be interested that Alex is now framing pictures in the Photographic Gallery in Leicester Adult Education College. Chloë is indeed taking it a little easier now, but still working!

Alex's website has all the details: http://leicesterpictureframers.co.uk

PS: LMAO at the 'jigsaw' post!

 

[Juan Varela]

I find difficult to name a favourite artist, mainly because many of the ones mentioned in the thread belong to different epochs. I don’t think you can compare Audubon with Greg Poole or Luis Agassiz with Lars Jonsson, in the same way you can’t compare Goya with Matisse. The use of photography and telescope to understand animal motion and shape makes a before and after in wildlife art.
We should make also a difference between identification drawing and painting. Sibley, Mullarney , Hayman or Gilmour have done a great job in the field of bird illustration, also Lars, but the too last ones are also painters (I may be wrong but I’ve not seen any painting by Mullarney). So, if I have to choose a bird illustrator I’d put Killian over the rest or nearly, but as a bird artist, Lars is probably one of the best if not the best nowadays. But don’t forget the “expressionists” Greg Poole, Kim Atkinson, Esther Tyson or Mat Underwood, or the teacher of a whole generation of British artists: John Busby not only a great illustrator, but also a great painter.
There are a lot of artists however that have not been mentioned here. To name a few: Stephen Quin, Barry Van Dusen, Peter Elfman, Johannes Nevala, Manuel Diaz Galeote, etc. As somebody said, the catalogues of Birds in Art are a good source of names and styles. Just around 100 of the nearly 1000 entries the jury have to review each year. Not an easy task to say a favourite!

 

[JWN Andrewes]

With so many realistic artists mentioned I'd like to throw Charley Harper into mix to bolster the ranks of more abstract representatives. Bold, geometric patterns with, bright blocks of clean colour and occasionally a bit of humour thrown in (although furred rather than feathered, his raccoons at the barbecue are a good example of this). I bought a poster of his in Costa Rica years ago, because it was such fun, packed with little details, love it!

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgu...a=X&ei=AJdMUomeBuq30QWRxoDYBQ&ved=0CDgQ9QEwAg

James

 

[Nick Sinden]

Good call James, I hadn't seen his work previously but am now a fan!
Nick

 

[solitaryVSong]

I haven't really made an effort to see his work but whenever I accidentally happen upon it I'm impressed, both in visual terms and in his understanding, often witty, of birds and their behavior.

One of the few remaining bird magazines over here, Birder's Digest, often offers his work for sale.

It is sort of amazing that he could get such recognizable birds using the protractor and other such tools!

 

[aberbirder]

Alan Harris

For the folk answering with 'Alan Harris', you might like this...


www.alanharrisbirdartist.co.uk

 

[jascha777]

Staggered nobody had mentioned Darren Rees,without question one if the very finest,and unquestionably the best called Darren!!!!

 

[Sandra (Taylor)]

Staggered nobody had mentioned Darren Rees,without question one if the very finest,and unquestionably the best called Darren!!!!

You just beat me to it Mark. Had first sight of Darren's paintings at the Speyside Reception the other Sunday at MM and thought they were great. In fact I thought a previous poster was talking about him but I tracked back and it's another Darren.

Sandra

 

[merulo]

Favourite bird artist

They're all trotting after Ray Harris-Ching..

 

[Strandman]

Staggered nobody had mentioned Darren Rees,without question one if the very finest,and unquestionably the best called Darren!!!!

Had the pleasure of talking to Darren Rees the other day- there's no doubt in recent years he has moved to the what you might call on this forum the dark side: animal paintings (North America, Spitsbergen) as much as, maybe more than, those pesky birds.

Always intriguing to see Harris Ching getting an adoring mention- i hate to think how many hours I spent trying to copy his work in the readers digest book of birds in the 1970s. Wonderful stuff tho' I'm not sure he has ever been what you would call birding as such. Does that matter? It does to me- I'm always looking for a sense of the artist's excitement about what he/she is seeing or has seen and that you don't get from some of the otherwise finest of bird paintings.

 

[timwootton]

. . . absolutely. It's all about love, not technique - without that there's no content. Erm, In my humble opinion

 

[merulo]

Seem to have stirred up something here...
Harris Ching undoubtedly makes lots of artists feel uncomfortable. He uses realism as simply another tool in his armoury rather than as an end in itself. This is evident comparing his work with other supreme realists like Carl Brenders, George McClean or Alan Hunt. Harris Ching seems to transcend this approach in his art. You sense the technique, though consummate, is always secondary, even trivial, to the artistic goal. Hardly any other artist ever attains or has attained this level of mastery.
Perhaps the only way for other artists of ability and honesty, when confronted with his work, is to turn two blind eyes, or if pushed, to disparage or even deride him.

 

[solitaryVSong]

Seem to have stirred up something here...
Harris Ching undoubtedly makes lots of artists feel uncomfortable. He uses realism as simply another tool in his armoury rather than as an end in itself. This is evident comparing his work with other supreme realists like Carl Brenders, George McClean or Alan Hunt. Harris Ching seems to transcend this approach in his art. You sense the technique, though consummate, is always secondary, even trivial, to the artistic goal. Hardly any other artist ever attains or has attained this level of mastery.
Perhaps the only way for other artists of ability and honesty, when confronted with his work, is to turn two blind eyes, or if pushed, to disparage or even deride him.

I have no reason whatsoever to criticize Ching and so I'm not going to. All I can say is that while I can see the skill involved I'm not moved in any way and that's what's always most important to me. It has nothing to do with blind eyes, disparagement or derision. That's your take on the matter.

I happened to pick up John Busby's book Drawing Birds yesterday and was flipping through it for probably the 20th or 30th time. Just about every one in there could qualify for my 'Favorite Bird Artist.'

 

[John Cantelo]

Although I can admire his technique, I often find something stilted about Ray Harris-Tring's work - somehow akin to stuffed animals vs the real thing. I was never an admirer of his Readers' Digest work. Paschalis Dougalis (for some reason I can't copy & paste his blog page or website details - Google them) in contrast always seems to be able to combine masterful technique and yet keep the birds alive.

 

[timwootton]

Seem to have stirred up something here...
Harris Ching undoubtedly makes lots of artists feel uncomfortable. He uses realism as simply another tool in his armoury rather than as an end in itself. This is evident comparing his work with other supreme realists like Carl Brenders, George McClean or Alan Hunt. Harris Ching seems to transcend this approach in his art. You sense the technique, though consummate, is always secondary, even trivial, to the artistic goal. Hardly any other artist ever attains or has attained this level of mastery.
Perhaps the only way for other artists of ability and honesty, when confronted with his work, is to turn two blind eyes, or if pushed, to disparage or even deride him.

He's your favourite and that's the title of the thread. He's not mine, that's all B chill

 

[merulo]

OK, sorry for raising hackles, however appropriate that might be in a combative bird art forum. I'm just very surprised that nobody else seems to share my opinion.

Some years ago, Alan Harris, a very fine bird artist himself, wrote a comprehensive article on bird illustration from the nineteenth century to the nineties. Guess which bird guide and illustrator was omitted. Hint-not the RAC guide to British Birds.
It took Harris-Ching under two years to finish this stupendous body of work, apparently exhausting himself and his finances in the process.
Look at it this way, Robert Gillmor produced some beautiful illustrations and some excellent line drawings, all unfairly miniaturised, for every bird in this guide. But does anyone remember this book for his work?

 

[birdboybowley]

Well I think Harris-Ching's work is stellar too! That famous painting of the Takahe is mind-blowing, his use of light & colour is just fantastic. I've got three of his books and can spend a fair while just thumbing through the pages

 

[timwootton]

it's a good discussion but like music, so subjective. It would be good to get a few critiques about the selected favourites.