What's your favourite 'Bird-Art' book?

[timwootton]

I suppose the inaugural post on the sub-forum ought to mention a couple of all-time superstars of the genre, but I won't be greedy and will just say that I have recently received my copy of 'The Peerless Eye' - Bruno Liljefors, by Martha Hill. Not only does the book cast enlightenment on 'his' way of working but has intelligent discussions about the genre and how it is perceived within the art establishment.
I have many favourite images from the book, but one of the most striking is of a mallard suspended from a line over the water's surface, splashing and creating ripples of movement, apparently so the artist, in his search for realism, could envisage the patterns an alighting fowl would make. His subsequent painting ows much to this photographic reference and to his ingenuity. Cruel and uncaring? or just the work of an extremely inquisitive mind?
And as an aside - does anyone know what Martha Hill is doing nowadays? - Is she of 'Swan Hill Press'?

[John Strawbridge]

Tim- Martha Hill is married to the photographer Kevin Schafer and lives in Seattle. She's written quite a bit since Audubon and the Liljefors book, and also has tried her hand at watercolour. If you go to KevinSchafer dot com, you can find out more. Hope this helps.

Anything I can say about the great wildlife art books, you doubtless already know. But do you know Richard Schmid? He's not strictly a wildlife artist, but is one of the most admired painters on this side of the Atlantic. There is a website, should you like to see his work; also, a number of "how-to" books which, unfortunately, are quite expensive and hard to find.

Cheers!

[timwootton]

Thanks John - particularly for the link to Richard's website. Sometimes during fumbles through the internet one is lucky enough to unearth something of more than passing interest - the rest of the time we rely on decent folk to signpost the way. Many thanks for pointing me in this direction - he'll be looked at again and again.
I also went to Kevin's site - what a truly remarkably talented chap! There's also much here to admire and I'll be doing that more often, too. Unfortunately I couldn't find any link to Martha's work there (perhaps I'm not looking hard enough). I enjoyed her text in 'Peerless' - hence the interest in her.
Thanks again, John.

[John Strawbridge]

footnote: there's a link on the Kevin Schafer website to his wife's watercolour page. <www.aquafolio.com> Hope this helps...

[timwootton]

Many thanks John - you can clearly spot an idiot in need. The link works perfectly.

[colleenc]

Drawing Birds by John Busby, is my all time favorite, have read and re-read it many times and always find something new. It is so warm and down to earth, feels like he's just having a conversation with you

My new current favorite came into my life by chance. I cleaned out some of my sagging bookshelves, and took books to a local secondhand shop. Due to the economy they were only doing trade not cash. As I went looking in the bird section I came across Tunnicliffe's Birdlife, by Noel Cusa, ISBN0907745040 published in Britain in 1985. I've put 3 below.

There are 90 watercolors and oils all showcased one by one with a short paragraph well below, so each painting stands out like in a gallery, on a soft grey background. There are sections on each kind of bird, like Ducks and Rails and Birds of Prey etc, where a short essay introduces the section, and tells something of Tunnicliffe. For artists like me there is a section of "Bird Painting" with some of his sketches that were preparatory for some of the plates, so you can see how he went about his work.

A while back I got his book of Measured Drawings, a real gem for an artist and very beautiful, but I think this one would have more general appeal. That's not to say that it hasn't got a giant wealth of information to study if you are a painter. Just understanding how he did the water in the redbreasted geese is a master class in water.

The only complaint I have is there is no mention of media on the paintings, some are easy to guess as watercolor, but he is so skillful with it, that many could be oil in the book, we as readers are left to guess. I paid only $30 for this book, full color plates printed in Italy.

His genius is undeniable, as his birds are exactly rendered without being a slave to detail, he is obviously influenced by oriental art, yet renders details like the frost on the plants in the Chinese Geese with exquisite attention. Sorry the photo doesn't show that well, you'll have to find the book. His compositions are complex but perfectly balanced, a few are sort of humdrum bird in the middle stuff,(painted so well who cares!) but his flights are mindboggling, look at the space he creates in "Alighting Whitefronts"

Hope you can find this gem, maybe it will be easier in the UK.

[heidy_james]

Originally Posted by John Strawbridge

footnote: there's a link on the Kevin Schafer website to his wife's watercolour page. <www.aquafolio.com> Hope this helps...

yeah i have checked it. Interesting link....