The Society of Wildlife Artists

The Natural Eye exhibition is a showcase of art inspired by the natural world. The exhibition celebrates work in many mediums including sculpture and printmaking, but this article gives a flavour of the paintings, pastels and drawing on show.

There are many examples of paintings in oil at the exhibition, each showing the wide range of styles. All the artists mentioned in this post base their work on intense observation and sketching from life. John Dobbs uses big mark making with thick layered paint to great effect, his animals emerging from the paint in an almost sculptural way. Another artist who works in a bold way is Rachel Lockwood who uses rich colours in her more abstract pieces. Esther Tyson uses the white background to set of her spare bold brushstrokes that seem to effortlessly capture the essence of the animal. Robert Greenhalf and John Foker both have a lovely colour sense and create beautifully observed pieces which are full of life.

Chris Rose is the master of detail and wonderful composition. Inspired by pattern and texture, he spends many hours working in the field making colour sketches and notes and ensures that the context of his birds is as important as the birds themselves. 

Other artists who use patterns in the landscape are Richard Allen and Brin Edwards, both of whom use intensified colour to great effect. Brin uses acrylics as well as oils and another artist using acrylics is Amie Haslen who paints beautiful pieces from her observations of invertebrates in the meadows and field margins around her home in Suffolk.

Dafila Scott and John Threlfall are very accomplished oil painters but are equally at home using pastel. Pastels and charcoal, known as dry media, are easy to overwork. The lightness of touch required is evident in the gorgeous tone and delicacy in their pieces. 

Wynona Legg uses mixed media including ink in her wonderful studies drawn from life.

Fiona Clucas and Tianyan Wang have pieces created in monochrome using charcoal and graphite respectively.

There are many artists who work in watercolours to produce extraordinary work. Darren Woodhead is renowned for his large scale works painted en plein air. Ben Woodhams is another artist who works outside direct from life. 

There are many, many more wonderful paintings and drawings on show at the exhibition. To view online click here.