Magpie Lark 1 Painting

I have been fascinated by birds since I was a young boy in England when my heroes were the famous bird painters of the day. Later in life my career as an Australian trade diplomat meant that I lived and worked around the world. Even in seemingly unlikely places such as Saudi Arabia I was able to pursue this passion because Saudi Arabia is on some of the great seasonal migratory routes. My paintings never set out to be scientific "feather studies" but rather to be portraits showing the birds' character and personality. At the same time I try to capitalise on the wonderful fluidity and transparency of watercolour which is so apt for painting birds. I paint mainly "Australian" birds although many are international citizens that carry out staggering feats of global migration each year. I only paint individual birds that I have actually observed in the wild. I hope that you will find room for one of my paintings and that it gives you pleasure and perhaps a talking point for family and friends. By the way I include some suggestions on framing with each painting I sell. You can just hand this advice to your framer with the artwork if you wish.