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OUR ARTISTS

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OUR ARTISTS

Online Catalogue | OUR ARTISTS

PAUL APPS
Ref: APPS
Kent artist Paul Apps is a passionate wildlife artist and photographer. His work captures the unique character of the subject and interaction with its natural environment. While Paul creates images of wildlife from all over the world, he frequently returns to the expanse of the African landscape and fauna to inspire his grand canvases. Since his first visit to the continent in 1989, Paul has travelled there annually to collect reference and experience the thrilling game and panoramas.

Paul was born in the Romney Marshes of Kent in 1958. Through exploring the rural countryside surrounding his home, Paul rapidly developed a love of the unique landscape and wildlife.

With no formal art training, painting was initially a hobby. However increasing demand initiated the progression to professional artist in 1987.

Ever since, Paul's success and reputation as a wildlife, portrait and equestrian artist has flourished. As well as exhibitions in the UK, artworks have been displayed in Africa, Singapore, Europe and the USA, where his first solo show sold out on the opening night. Sotheby's, Christies and Bonhams have all seen images sell for record prices. With over 60 fine art prints to his credit, originals are also keenly sought after by collectors around the globe.

Furthermore, Paul has taught art techniques for many years, and contributed to several tuition magazines. He has demonstrated a vast array of art products for various prestigious materials manufacturers.

Supporting wildlife conservation has always been of paramount importance to Paul. Sales of his work have helped raise thousands of pounds for various charities, including Tuskforce, The Born Free Foundation, The David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation and The Injured Jockey's Fund.

Paul is consistently looking at new ways of representing wildlife on canvas through experimentation. Currently he is using impressionistic, abstract brushstrokes, mingled with the detail of fur or feather, to create outstanding compositions. The fundamental aim, to paint the best images possible and raise funds for wildlife conservation

JULIE ASKEW
Ref: Askew
Julie is a graduate of Middlesex University with a BA(Hon) in Scientific Illustration. Sitting in hides from dawn to dusk drawing and studying bird behaviour, sketching at collections, and understanding anatomy gave her a great grounding for research and a taste for fieldwork.

Her travels have taken her worldwide, across Africa, Asia, Austrialasia, Pacific, Europe, USA and Caribbean.
She is just returned from South America, traveling down to the cape via Brazil, venezuala, Falklands and Chile and then up the Amazon.. four sketchbooks were filled and new subjects await being painted!

Supporting the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, she has held a sucessful show at their Cheng-Kim Loke Gallery at Slimbridge UK, and has donated work for their international research programs.

Julie s a regular Artist In Residence at the Nature In Art Museum, UK, Where she enjoys demonstrating to the public.
It gives her the opportunity show techniques and answer questions, look at work brought in by the public for her feed back, and encourage people of all ages to explore the world of paint for themselves.
Julie has work in the Museums perminant collection.

Encouraging others to appreciate Wildlife Art, she holds lectures, demonstrations and workshops for Art Societies and groups.

CHRISTINE BIGMORE
Ref: Bigmore
Christine Bigmore developed her natural artistic ability at school, winning a senior prize for art. She continued her studies at Croydon College of Art and Design where she gained academic success in Practical Art and History of Art. Christine's later career involved the commissioning of artwork through the printing of postage stamps for overseas governments, thus refining her exacting eye for detail. After leaving work in 1990 to concentrate on her family, Christine still yearned for for artisitic fulfillment. Eventually she resolved to pursue her diestiny and take up a full-time artistic career, augmenting her previous tutelage with courses at The Royal College of Art, the City Literary Guild and the Mall Galleries. She became successful in completing a variety of commissions from portraiture to domestiv animals, through to wildlife and children's book illustrations.
In 'Tiger, a Portrait' Christine's skill and quality have proved to be a determining factor. It is work that will surely enrich the lives of anyone who delights in the singular dedication of an artist at her best.

THOMAS BLINKS
Ref: Blinks
Thomas Blinks was a pre-eminent animal and sporting painter and thrived at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

It is not known whether he had any formal training but, according to the artist, he learned the anatomy and action of horses by observing them race at Tattersalls. He was talented at capturing the movement of animals; the play of muscles of horses and dogs being a speciality. Working in oil and water-colour, his pictures show the viewer that Blinks had a strong understanding of horses and hounds. Freedom of brushwork and a polished finish helped to make Blinks' works highly successful.

Blinks' works were first seen in London at the Dudley Gallery in 1881, then at the Royal British Academy in 1882, and at the Royal Academy and Royal Institute of Oil Painters the following year. His hunting and racing pictures were frequently exhibited at the Royal Academy.

Paintings by Thomas Blinks were very well received by the public and by his peers; he was even commissioned to depict King George V when he was out hunting. Eighty of Blinks' works were so popular that they were reproduced in print form, some being engraved by J. B. Pratt.

CARL BRENDERS
Ref: Brenders
Carl was born in 1937 near Antwerp where he still lives with his wife, Paula. He started drawing at a very early age and trained at the Fine Art Academy there and later in Berchem and began his career as an illustrator of children’s books on natural history. Being a great train fan, he painted them also. For long revered and collected by admirers around the world, in September 2002 he was deservedly honoured by the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wisconsin, USA, as their Master Wildlife Artist, describing it as ‘the high point of my career’.

RICHARD BRITTON
Ref: Brit
Living in the heart of the English countryside, Richard Britton works from his home studio. A dedicated animal lover and conservationist, he illustrates his subjects within their natural settings. He became a full-time professional artist in 1968 and has exhibited with the Society of Wildlife Artists, the Society of Equestrian Artists and the Pastel Society. His work has featured in exhibitions in London, America and the Netherlands.

Originally trained as a production engineer, Richard Britton also attended the Birmingham School of Art, where he studied portraiture, life drawing and sculpture. After National Service as a commissioned officer, he realised the importance of art in his life and directed his energies to that end.

Following his first London exhibition in 1976, he spent 6 months in South Africa at the invitation of the South African Department of Nature Conservation, painting endangered species. He has subsequently visited South Africa and America to paint racehorses. He is an international full-bore rifleman and has shot and coached for Great Britain over the last 30 years.

The majority of his work is executed in oils or water-based media and, over the years, his original work has been sold all over the world.

He is ever-aware of the need for world-wide nature conservation and a number of his paintings have been used for the promotion of environmental causes of this kind.

MARTIN BUFFERY
Ref: Buff
Martin has spent most of his life in the world of art and design. An early interest in science fiction led to an appreciation of the imaginative paintings of illustrators like Jim Burns or Alan Lee and this combined with the influence of Ridley Scott's film "Bladerunner", pointed the way towards a career in art.

However an interview with one of the chief designers at the Rover car company when he was sixteen altered Martin's trajectory away from pure art and illustration and into the world of automotive design. He has spent nearly twenty years in this demanding world initially gaining an MA at Coventry University before becoming a principal designer for Rover group and then Land Rover. His work has included the Land Rover Defender SVX show car and more recently he was responsible for the interior design of the Land Rover Freelander2.

However in the increasingly complex world of automotive design Martin has found himself spending more time in meetings than at the drawing board, and to compensate for this started drawing for his own pleasure in his spare time. Gradually this hobby became more serious and exhibitions with the Guild of Aviation Artists and the Guild of Motoring Artists followed.

His work is mostly in either pencil or watercolour, and although Martin enjoys commissions on any subject concentrates mostly on automotive, aviation and animal subjects.

When not drawing and painting Martin enjoys travelling, which he finds a great inspiration for his work, and after gaining his private pilots license in 2001 flies a Cessna C152 around the Warwickshire countryside.

MICK CAWSTON
Ref: Caws
Sadly, Mick Cawston died in 2006. We believe he was one of the finest wildlife artists and his sudden death will be a great loss to his family, friends, collectors and associates, and the art community as a whole. We have echoed here the tribute and biography displayed on his publisher's website: Had you met Mick Cawston walking down the path towards you in his old battered jacket, his hair down to his shoulders and his knee hanging out of his jeans you would have been forgiven for not realising that he was one of the world's finest dog painters. His work is comparable to that of John Emms or Maude Earl and he worked equally well in oils, water colours or pastels. No matter what breed of dog he portrayed, the character and likeness of the dog were always superb. Many of his works have been reproduced as limited edition prints and he was voted 5 times, in the Fine Art Trade Guild survey, as one of the top selling artists, winning it in 1998. Born in 1959 in Dagenham, Essex. His father teaches and translates the deaf and dumb language for the police. He was educated at the Robert Clock comprehensive school and it was here that he won his first exhibition at the age of seven. On leaving school he trained as a cabinet maker before signing up in the army for three years. There, amongst other things, he did a six month tour in Northern Ireland. After the army he spent six months working as a motor cycle messenger in London, earning himself enough money to spend a few months touring Europe. Throughout all this time his passion for drawing grew stronger and on returning from Europe he spent six months sketching people’s children on the pavements of Covent Garden, in pastel at £3 a time. From here a London silversmith employed him to design silverware, largely for the Arab market. However, interesting as this was, it was never Mick’s great passion and before very long he moved away from London and spent the next three years living in a small cottage on a farm in Burnham-on-Crouch and returned to selling his work on the streets, although this time his price had gone up to £18 a drawing. Despite his price increase he could not make a living and as a result he started to paint seriously in oils in the early part of 1987. By the middle of 1987 he had been discovered by Sally Mitchell and by the end of this year he had his first two limited edition prints published after his work. He never looked back becoming one of the country's top selling published artists with a very strong following of country loving people. In 1996, Mick celebrated the publication of his 200th print, entitled Wildlife 200, which is a wonderful composite picture of British wildlife. The painting was used in a children’s competition, run by the national magazine Shooting Times, for young children to name all the animals in the picture. The original painting, an oil on canvas, 24 inches by 36 inches was donated to the Animal Health Trust where it was successfully auctioned for £3000. He was featured by Gundogs magazine in 1996 as one of the leading dog artists. He has been featured in many magazines and his work has graced numerous front covers of leading publications. The first time he exhibited at the Society of Equestrian Artists in London, with only the second horse picture he had ever painted, he won the award for the best newcomer. The next year he was awarded full membership. His original paintings are widely collected and his pictures hang in collections in many countries, including Sweden, Australia, Kenya, Japan, America much of Europe and, of course, England.

STUART COFFIELD
Ref: Coff
Born in Kinloss, Scotland, in 1953, Stuart Coffield began drawing at the age of six, and sold his first drawing when he was just ten years old.

He spent his childhood moving between R.A.F postings with his parents, in Scotland, England, Wales, Germany, and Kenya. Whilst living at the R.A.F bases, he became interested in aircraft and his first subject was a Lancaster Bomber.

Stuart Coffield is an entirely self-taught artist. However, he has taken much inspiration from the diverse artwork found on record covers of the 1960s and 1970s.

Before launching into his own career as a professional artist and photographer in 1984, he held various jobs, including one with a ceramic design company. He then went on to work for various advertising agencies and multi-national companies, whilst receiving a steady flow of private commissions.

Stuart Coffield particularly enjoys painting portraits, motor-racing scenes and aircraft. Whilst away from his studio, he spends time bird watching and scale-model making

DAVID FEATHER
Ref: Feather
David Feather graduated from Newcastle University in 1976 with a degree in agriculture, and subsequently worked in the veterinary field for six years, prior to becoming a full-time wildlife artist.

Every brush stroke of David Feather's paintings is backed by years of careful observation, distilling the very essence of the wild and presenting a kaleidoscope of living beauty, caught for the moment, but ready in an instant to retreat into the misty background.

Such great artists as Archibald Thornburn and John Gould have been David's inspiration and it is his masterful technique in the use of acrylic paints that has enabled him to aspire to their creativity and develop his own unique style. David's work has gained him a well-deserved reputation.

Sadly, David passed away 4 years ago but leaves us his legacy of truly beautiful paintings.

DICK VAN HEERDE
Ref: Heerde
Born in Venlo, in The Netherlands, in 1954, Dick Van Heerde began painting in oil on canvas at the age of ten. After school, he began to learn the art of restoring paintings dating from the seventeenth century. He completed his apprenticeship in three and a half years, after which he worked for several years as a self-employed restorer of paintings.

Studying the techniques used by the old Masters began to heavily influence his style of painting. Before launching into his own career as a professional artist, he worked for some time as a laboratory assistant for a paint manufacturer and learned the finer chemistry of colour pigments and paints. To begin with, his paintings were typical of the surrealistic style. However, he soon decided to specialise in wildlife, still-life and landscape scenes, and today, Dick Van Heerde particularly enjoys painting European landscapes, although he is predominantly a wildlife artist.

In 1989, he made his first trip to Tanzania, where he developed a passion for painting the magnificent scenery and wildlife. Dick Van Heerde has since travelled extensively around Kenya, painting and sketching. Wildlife and landscapes have always been the main source of inspiration for his unique works, which have been exhibited at galleries in Holland and Germany. During the autumn of 1997, Dick Van Heerde's work was featured in a major wildlife exhibition at the Tryon and Swann Gallery, in London.

MATTHEW HILLIER
Ref: Hillier
Now living in the United States, Mathew Hillier was born in Buckinghamshire, England and grew up near Windsor Castle. Drawing and painting animals is something he has loved to do since he was a child. Hillier's father was a museum designer who taught his son the rudiments of painting with watercolors, a medium Hillier used during his years as an illustrator, along with gouache. In recent years, when he made the transition from illustrator to wildlife artist, he also switched to acrylic because it involves a looser painting process.

Traveling widely in search of subjects to study and paint, Hillier has visited Africa - where he was once charged by an angry elephant - many times, as well as India, Europe and Southeast Asia. He loves the big cats and rhinos and finds himself drawn to the water birds. When doing field research, Hillier sketches and also takes photographs, finding that while the photos are very useful for details of color, shape, background and texture, sketching forces him to "feel the subject" more.

Hillier studied at Dyfed College of Art in Carmanthen, West Wales, and graduated with distinction. Three of his paintings were accepted by the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, and he has exhibited regularly at the Pastel Society, the Society of Wildlife Artists (where he is a council member) The Royal Institute and the Miniature Society, as well as the Paris Salon, the Royal Society of Marine Artists and the Blaritz Salon. A member of the society of Animal Artists, his work is part of their traveling exhibition. He has participated in Christie's Wildlife Art Auction, and his work has been included many times in Leigh Yawkey Woodson's touring show of "Birds in Art." He has had one-man exhibitions throughout Great Britain and has illustrated several books.

In 1995, Hillier won the World Wildlife Fund Fine Art Award. In 1998 he received the "People's Choice Award" from The Florida Wildlife and Western Art Expo. In 1997, 1998 & 2001 he received The Society of Animal Artists' Award of Excellence. Hillier received the "People's Choice Award" at the Wildlife & Western Visions Show in 2002 & 2004. In 2003 he won the "Artists for the Next Century" Publishers award at the Bennington Art Museum in VT. His work appeared on the cover of Wildlife Art Magazine in 2000 & 2003. He was featured in the March/April issue of Wildlife Art Magazine in 2008. Hillier has taught "Life Painting" for several years at Montgomery College & recently taught a wildlife art workshop at the Beartooth School of Art in Montana. He lives with his wife Julia Rogers, his two step children & his young son in Maryland.

SPENCER HODGE
Ref: Hodge
Spencer Hodge was born in 1943, and attended the Hastings School of Art and Royal West of England Academy. After a formal and academic art training he spent six years illustrating books and teaching material for the Medical Research Council. The dissection and drawing of the human body which this work involved gave him a profound understanding of the mechanics and structure of form.

After leaving England, Spencer Hodge travelled widely, undertaking long field trips for international conservation organisations such as the World Wide Fund for Nature. He journeyed to places such as India, West Africa, the United Arab Emirates and, particularly, the game rich areas of Tanzania and Kenya.

Many of these trips culminated in successful exhibitions to raise funds for specific conservation projects including, for example, a Bahamas National Trust exhibition under the patronage of, and opened by, HRH the Duke of Edinburgh which targeted the rare Bahamian Parrot.

Spencer Hodge has acquired a reputation as one of the finest wildlife artists this century, and he counts HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and HSH Prince Rainier amongst his many admirers. His work is exhibited by leading galleries throughout Europe and America and over 40 of his limited edition prints have now been published.

Spencer Hodge’s passion for nature and wildlife has proved to be an inexhaustible source of inspiration throughout his career. The many hundreds of hours spent studying wild animals and birds in their natural habitat are truly reflected in the precision and realism of his dramatic work.

MICHAEL KITCHEN HURLE
Ref: Hurle
As an ex-Londoner, Michael moved to rural Somerset in the 1950's. Since then he has cultivated a deep appreciation and love of the rural world and has been painting wildlife since the age of ten. He later moved to Warwickshire where he now lives with his wife. Now this accomplished and self-taught artist's work is much sought after by the general public and collectors alike.

Michael has exhibited extensively, primarily in the Home Counties, the Cotswolds and in Central London galleries. Paintings have already been sold in Europe, the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Moscow and Japan. Through the prestigious London gallery of H C Dickens more paintings have been sold in the USA.

In keeping with the expertise and quality of Michael's work, limited and unlimited editions of prints have been produced by leading companies such as ROSENSTIEL'S, SOLOMON & WHITEHEAD, and DAYFOLD PUBLICATIONS (advertised in the BBC Wildlife Magazine). Others were commissioned by the BORN FREE FOUNDATION (set up to protect and rehabilitate wild animals). These have been countersigned by Virginia McKenna, her late husband Bill Travers, Will Travers and Joanna Lumley. Michael's painting of the two lions Raffi and Anthea, rescued by the Born Free Foundation, was purchased by Anthea Turner

BRADFORD EXCHANGE commissioned Michael to produce plate designs for the series "This Land is our Land" depicting English Country farming scenes of bygone days. He has also produced a group of paintings for BORDER FINE ARTS for their "James Herriot" collection. These are used for prints, plates and collector mugs.

Michael still finds time to produce designs for cards and calendars for companies such as JARROLDS and the RSPB. NOEL TATT Ltd have in recent years produced a great number of Michael's designs as greeting cards, and some as limited edition prints. Recently, Michael has produced designs for ANIMAL AWARENESS, a company specialising in jigsaws and home stationary. These include Big Cats, Garden Birds, British Woodland Mammals, the Amazon Rainforest, African Wildlife, and British Sheep and Pig Breeds

TERRY ISAAC
Ref: Isaac
Artist Terry Isaac is a native northwesterner. Living in the Willamette Valley of Oregon between the Cascade Mountain Range and Pacific Ocean, he paints the wildlife and landscapes of the western United States.

Although Isaac received a formal art education, graduating with honors, he believes his best training has come from being outdoors and from studying the work of his favorite wildlife artists.

In the last few years, Isaac has placed in 12 stamp and print competitions. He enjoys participating in these state and national fish and waterfowl stamp and print competitions because they require high standards of painting technique, design, animal anatomy and habitat. Isaac has been selected to participate in several important art exhibitions, including the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum's prestigious "Birds in Art" exhibitions. He was also commissioned to produce 14 waterfowl drawings for the Audubon Bird Handbook, published in 1987.

Terry Isaac's captivating scenes of nature are rendered in acrylics. Published by Mill Pond Press since 1988, Terry`s art is the subject of the book, Painting the Drama of Wildlife, Step by Step, published by North Light Books.

Terry`s art is also featured in Painting Birds Step by Step (cover/North Light Books, 1996), The Best of Wildlife Art (cover/North Light Books,1997), and, More Wildlife Painting Techniques of Modern Masters (Watson- Guptill Publications, 1996).

Terry was the 1998 Pacific Rim Wildlife Art Show Artist of the Year and was 1998 Florida Wildlife and Western Art Expo Artist of the Year. The source of his inspiration is often as near as his own backyard, where he delights in watching the birds that have been the subject of many of his paintings, saying, "To be a good artist, you need to be a good observer."

DAVID MILLER
Ref: Miller
Born in Oldham, Lancashire in 1966, David Miller now lives and works in the heart of the West Wales countryside, in a wooded valley near the Taf and Towy estuaries with the dramatic Pembrokeshire coastline on his doorstep.

He paints mostly British wildlife, usually in oils, preferring to return again and again to subjects he knows well, travelling widely to gather reference and inspiration for his work.

BOB OXLEY
Ref: Oxley
Bob Oxley specialises in bringing exceptionally personal memories to canvas for a lifetime of enjoyment for the whole family. Bob was a BBC Wildlife artist of the year 2009 finalist.

Bob has been painting all his life and its his passion to be able to bring the best in pet portraits, wildlife art, and contemporary styles.

Bob has his work in various countries as well as exhibiting in many shows around England including the Art in Action 08, in Oxford and in previous editions of the Artist and Illustrator magazine

LEONARD PEARMAN
Ref: Pear
Leonard Pearman was born in Birmingham, England in 1912.

An RAF pilot in the war, Leonard Pearman was taken a prisoner of war after his Mosquito plane was shot down over Cologne in 1942. A POW for three years, most of his time was spent in Stalag Luft III, of ‘Great Escape’ fame, where he played his part in forging documents for would-be escapers. It was also during these three years that he studied painting as seriously as conditions would allow, concentrating mainly on portraiture.

After the war, he continued painting as a 'Sunday Painter' whilst working as an executive in a multi-national company but he continued to take his painting even more seriously when he moved to the south of England. Enrolling at the Marlborough School of Art in Chelsea, he studied advanced portrait painting and decided, in 1970, to devote his time entirely to art.

Portraiture has continued to be an important part of his work, with commissions including Sir William Arnold; Bailiff of Guernsey; Lord Barber during his term as Chancellor of the Exchequer (with whom Pearman had been imprisoned in Stalag Luft III); and many boardroom portraits.

A keen painter of wildlife subjects, Leonard Peraman has also travelled extensively overseas, including an unique safari tour of the Santawani and Savuti areas of Botswana. As well as exhibiting regularly with the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and the Society of Wildlife Artists, his work has been shown in Johannesburg, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, Arizona, where he was invited to become a member of Wildlife Artists International in 1978. His subject ‘Siberian Tiger’ was noted Number 1 in a poll of top prints by the Fine Art Trade Guild in 1981.

Leonard Pearman died in August 2003.

THIERRY PONCELET
Ref: Ponce
Born in Brussels, in 1946, Thierry Poncelet spent his childhood in Manche en Famenne, a small town in Belgium. At a young age, his grandmother, who was a well-known portrait painter, encouraged him to paint and draw.

Thierry Poncelet is an entirely self-taught oil painter, although he studied drawing at St. Luc School. After his education, he spent a few years working for a picture restorer at the studio of a well-known painter, Max Massot. During this time, he learnt the technique of painting restoration. However, his love for painting soon outgrew his interest in restoration, and he decided to become a full-time oil painter, specialising particularly in whimsical dog portraits.

He has taken much inspiration from famous French painters, including Jerome Bosch, as well as humorous literature and the art of Walt Disney. Thierry Poncelet has become an extremely successful artist, and his paintings are sought after throughout the world. His unique portraits have been exhibited at many leading galleries. When away from his studio, appropriately, he enjoys walking his dog

MARTIN RIDLEY Ref: Ridley
Martin has worked as a professional wildlife artist since 1989. When asked what inspires him Martin simply answers "the natural world". An enthusiastic observer of nature he thoroughly enjoys the creative challenge of capturing his experiences

Graduating in 1988 from the Carmarthenshire College of Technology and Art with the highest awards ever given to a student completing the wildlife illustration course he was not only awarded a distinction but was nominated course, faculty and college student of the year.

In 1999 a painting was selected for the prestigious Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Birds in Art exhibition in the USA. The painting was further selected from the show to go on tour. Works are exhibited annually at The Society of Wildlife Artists of which he has been elected an associate member.

Spring 2008 was his seventh Artist in Residency at The Society of Wildlife Art of The Nations at Nature in Art, Gloucestershire. April 2000 saw his second successful exhibition at The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Slimbridge. Martin's work appeared on regional television and he has diversified into giving talks about his work.

A painter of both mammals and birds Martin Ridley has spent much time developing a knowledge of the field, which is clearly reflected in his work. Combined with conceptual composition his attention to animal behaviour, habitat detail and lighting creates an amazingly accurate and artistic record of his nature encounters. Particular attention is given to integrating his subjects into their natural habitat. Any featured rocks and branches are likely to be given as much attention as the animal content. He prefers to depict the wildlife in a setting that records the “whole” experience of an encounter and the “whole” may be more about the moody landscape than the focal point of a deer placed carefully to offer scale.

Patterns found within nature hold a particular attraction and are often a key feature within his work. Martin derives much of his satisfaction in the studio by exploring the possibilities of composition. The rendering of weather conditions to create atmospheric situations then enhances this compositional creativity.

Inspirations are principally collected during extensive periods of fieldwork when Martin tends to concentrate his observations on one species at a time enabling him to attain an in-depth understanding of behaviour. This has involved activities such as going out in the snow at 4.30am to watch displaying black grouse from a portable hide and nightly visits to badgers and foxes resulting in their eventual habituation to his presence.

At The Wildlife Art Society's 1995 Exhibition at the Westminster Galleries in London, Martin was awarded Best Painting in Show, Best Oil Painting and Best Newcomer. In 1997 he was a finalist in the Laing sponsored seascape and landscape painting competition and in the following year two works were finalists in the touring Nature in Art exhibition.

ADRIAN RIGBY
Ref: Rigby
Adrian RIGBY Ref: RIGBY
Born in 1962 in Lancashire, Adrian Rigby is a prize-winning wildlife artist who discovered his passion for wildlife and nature at a young age. He spends a great deal of time out in the field collecting, observing and noting changes to nature according to the varying seasons and paints mainly with oil and gouache. He is also an exceptional aviation artist. see http://www.artizus.com/acatalog

HENRIETTE RONNER-KNIP
Ref: Ronner
Born in Amsterdam in 1821, Henriette Ronner Knip came from an artistic family and she studied art under her father, Joseph Augustus Knip.

After selling her first painting at the age of fifteen she produced an outstanding body of work which is now on display in many European museums, including the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Dordrecht Museum.

Her early and formative years of painting included genre scenes, landscapes and still-lifes, although she later established herself as a painter of cats and dogs. In 1876 the Queen of Belgium commissioned her to paint two of her favourite lap-dogs and the success of this work led to further prestigious commissions from great names including Emperor William I of Germany, Baron Tindal of Amsterdam, the Duchess of Edinburgh and the Princess of Wales. The following year Henriette Ronner-Knip was awarded the Cross of the Leopold Order; a rare achievement for a woman artist.

After her marriage in 1850 to Telco Ronner, Henriette Ronner-Knip settled in Brussels where she remained until her death in 1909. A major retrospective of her work was held at the Kunsthal in Rotterdam in 1998.

LYNDSEY SELLEY
Ref: Selley
Even as a toddler all Lyndsey used to do was colour in pictures and draw and even at school Lyndsey was working as a figurine painter for Royal Crown Derby. Later whilst working for an illustrator a French company commissioned the studio she was working for to paint wildlife books for children; the two books became a set of fourteen which became a whole years work.
For the next three years she worked part-time for Denby Pottery which gave her time to work on her paintings and demand for her work grew rapidly
Lyndsey says that she experimented with different mediums and brushes and she has changed a lot in her style of work from being intricately detailed to loosening up to create an atmosphere rather than an illustration
As her work progressed she was fortunate to travel to South Africa where the light is fantastic and she was able to take actual references for her material. To date her works have sold in the famous Christie's auctions and she has received numerous awards.
Lyndsey currently resides in Derbyshire with her husband and two children

DAVID SHEPHERD Ref: Shep
David was born in Hendon, North London and now lives in Sussex. Perhaps more famous for his wildlife paitings he began by painting aviation subjects and steam trains some of which may be seen in our galleries. David paints in oil and pencil. It could be said that he, as both an artist and a conservationist has become a giant amongst men with artists the world over looking to his work for inspiration

MANDY SHEPHERD
Ref: Sheph
Mandy Shepherd is one artist who simply doesn't hang around! Her contagious vitality, enthusiasm for life and sense of humour have all contributed to a career that has produced ambition for opportunity. Her portfolio is one of striking contrasts. From proud portraits to delicate watercolours of her wildlife subjects to heavy battleships on military manoeuvres she is one of few artists who are so diverse in their subject material.

With a deep passion for wildlife and conservation her early work and exhibitions were dominated by wildlife subjects and it was the wildlife, in 1996, that took her 8.000 miles from home to the Falkland Islands to write and illustrate her first book "The Falkland Islands an artists portfolio"

In the last ten years Mandy has travelled to Bosnia, Kosovo, Brunei, Oman and Iraq on commission, painting aircraft, ships old and new and the working life of military personnel. It has been an adventurous enterprise but Mandy has never lost her roots or commitment to conservation and is a trustee of Falklands Conservation and vice-President of the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation. When she's not painting Mandy takes a number of wildlife tours to interesting places "off the beaten track".

JACQUELINE STANHOPE
Ref: Stan
Jacqueline Stanhope was born in 1963 and was educated in Scotland. Facinated by horses and racing she began painting and drawing them at an early age by the young age of 10 she was using oils. She was gifted both academically as well as artistically, she began selling her work in secondary school. She left school at the age of 16 to follow her career in painting on a professional level, chosing this route over a career in medicine. She was facinated by anatomy and science more than art and started freelancing as a graphic and portrait artist. By age 21 she had undertaken work for Walt Disney and had painted football teams. Jacqueline took time out to raise a young family and then re-entered the art world by producing 'Northern Dancer & Sons' a limited edition print. This print led to a rise in her popularity with leaders in the racing world investing in her work. Her work is exhibited annually at Tattersalls December Sales which has also raised her profile with paintings being sold to clients worldwide.

KIM THOMPSON
Ref: Thomp
Kim Thompson was born on the south coast of England and brought up in an art-loving family. She trained in wildlife illustration at Dyfed College of Art, where two years in the heart of the Welsh countryside broadened and reinforced her knowledge of animals and birds and the importance of conservation. Graduating with a Distinction in the late 1980s, she established herself as an illustrator and wildlife artist. Her career in this field has brought her many varied commissions and illustration projects.

Specialising in equestrian subjects and natural history, including birds, animals, reptiles and amphibians, Kim Thompson is asked to paint a wide variety of creatures. She has worked on wildlife projects for Marshall Cavendish and International Masters Publishers and also illustrated book jackets for publishers including Macmillan Books. She has also produced artwork for Marwell Zoological Park and her original paintings have been exhibited and sold at both Sotheby’s and Christie’s fine art auctions.

Working primarily in acrylic, Kim Thompson often paints to commission with most of her equestrian paintings being commissioned pieces. Her work is characterised by a close attention to detail and realism. A love of her subject is obvious from her paintings and she confesses to often feeling lucky working in such a challenging and rewarding field.

ARCHIBALD THORBURN
Ref: Thorb
Archibald Thorburn was born in 1860, near Edinburgh, the fifth son of the miniaturist Robert Thorburn ARA. He is now acknowledged as one of the greatest painters of birdlife of all time.

It was perhaps from his father that Archibald Thorburn acquired the ability to create his minutely detailed paintings and he sketched from a very early age. He painted birds, animals and flowers but he specialised in the study of game birds, as he had a tremendous knowledge of ornithology.

Thorburn received little formal artistic training but his career as a painter of birds began in 1883, when he completed 144 plates for WF Swaysland’s Familiar Wild Birds. However, his reputation was firmly established by his contribution to Lord Lilford’s magisterial survey Coloured Figures of the Birds of the British Isles, which was published between 1885 and 1898.

Thorburn’s work created such an impact because he was one of the first British wildlife artists to paint and sketch in the open and from life, rather than in a studio and from stuffed samples. Although he moved to London in 1885, he continued to make sketching tours of Britain throughout his life.

He first exhibited at the Royal Academy at the age of 20, and was a regular figure there throughout the 1880s and 1890s. At the end of the 1890s he became disillusioned with the Academy and exhibited instead at A Baird Carter, in Jermyn Street. Thorburn was also sufficiently highly-regarded by his contemporaries to have been asked to paint Queen Victoria on three separate occasions.

Thorburn wrote many of his own books on birdlife and, as a keen conservationist, was elected Vice President of the RSPB in recognition of his services on behalf of bird preservation.

Generally preferring to work in watercolour, Thorburn’s skill, artistic talent and scientific observation ensured that he was recognised as one of the leading artists of his time. He died in 1935.

JONATHAN TRUSS
Ref: Truss
JONATHAN TRUSS has always had a fascination for wildlife and his early career as a professional musician and actor complimented his love of oil painting. With international exhibitions his paintings are sold and collected around the world from New York to New Zealand from Botswana to Beverly Hills!

His enthusiasm for his subjects and the never ending exciting trail for new reference extends to regular trips, camping under canvas in the incredible game parks of Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia.

He is establishing himself as one of the UK's leading Wildlife Artists and is becoming well known for his paintings around the world. Published by top U.K. fine art publisher Solomon & Whitehead for the last 8 years with limited and open edition prints. With a rapidly growing number of collectors of his work, he`s had sell-outs on publication.

He continues to work with the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation and has several of his animal paintings published by them.

He has been on TV over 100 times and featured in many national and international magazines.

Apart from his other annual trips abroad he conducts Art Safaris for UK based holiday/Adventure agents Wildlife Worldwide, Kenya (2004 ) The Galapagos (2005) India (2006) Canada BC (2007) and Madagasgor for 2008

Jonathan is a professional wildlife artist passionate about the animals he captures on canvas and a member of the prestigious U.S. organization "The Society of Animal Artists".

NORMAN WARD
Ref: Ward

WOLFGANG WEBER
Ref: Weber
Acknowledged throughout the world as one of the greatest living masters of wildlife art, Wolfgang Weber’s success as an artist is the outcome of a great love for the animal kingdom which has inspired him to travel to many of the most remote corners of the earth in search of rare species. Armed with his brushes, he searches the landscape or seascape for animals in their natural habitat and, as a result of his close proximity to his subjects, Weber is able to concentrate particularly on the depiction of the split-second movements which he is able to observe, capture and record.

Born in 1936 in Koblenz, Germany, Weber attended art school in Mainz, where he was privileged to study under the world-famous expressionist artist Oskar Kokoschka, whose work and tutoring have had a significant impact on the style of Weber’s work. Another important influence on the development of Weber’s unique style was wildlife artist Wilhelm Kuhnert.

Wolfgang Weber has exhibited at a number of prestigious international venues and his life as an artist has also been studied in two outstanding ‘Survival’ television films, recorded by Anglia Television and shown across the United Kingdom and around the world.

Wolfgang Weber’s work has been likened to the forces of nature for its vivid and breathtaking approach and for its use of imagery which conveys both the strength and the elusive beauty of the animal kingdom. Weber’s work has an unusual frankness of style which gives the animals he portrays both freedom and vitality; a quality of the artist which has been admired by collectors of wildlife art around the world.

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