Natural Eye Award Winners 2022
Paul Henery Winner Birdwatch and Swarovski Optik Award
The winning painting ‘Stag Rocks, Evening light’ shows a roosting flock of one of my favourite winter visitors, the Purple Sandpiper. Stag Rocks near Bamburgh, Northumberland is one of the best sites for ‘Purps’. This image is all about an encounter which only happens a few times a year when the tide is high at about 4pm on a sunny December day and as the sun sets it touches the tops of the lichen-covered rocks and illuminates the birds which have been forced to the highest point by the tide. My aim is simply to tell that story and to capture that light and atmosphere. Paul Henery
Richard Allen Winner RSPB Art Award
Richard Tratt Winner Dry Red Press Award
Richard Tratt’s winning piece ‘Thistlepatch Visitors’ will be reproduced as a greetings card by The Dry Red Press.
Derek Robertson Winner Birdscapes Conservation Through Art Award
The Conservation through Art Award, sponsored by The BIRDscapes Gallery, acknowledges an artist’s efforts in using art to help conserve the natural world. It also directly benefits wildlife by the prize money being shared equally between the artist and a nature conservation body of the artist’s choosing. Derek Robertson is this year’s winner for his thought-provoking exploration and graphic portrayal of the threats faced by wildlife as a direct result of certain human activities.
