Description
“Cape Teal” | A terrific depiction of game birds in flight
- 9x12in.
- Oil on Canvas, 2017
- Unframed, US Postage Included
I sketch game birds informally while dreaming of fond memories as a young lad with my Father, always with a focus on the plight of the species. The angle of evasion evokes vivid emotions of excitement and survival. Alert and deliberate masters of flight and changing direction in anticipation. These noble creatures may fly from place to place, feeding ground to feeding ground or migrate under constant threat from falcons and other birds of prey and yes hunting season, these birds instinctively “duck and dive”, some better than others. Each game bird species with it’s own ability and style from the moment it takes flight to the moment it reaches it’s destination. A “Venery”, the old word used to describe these groups is the best way to describe a Paddle of Ducks, a Dule of Doves, a Cast of Falcons, a Covey of Pheasants, Partridges or Quail, a Walk of Snipe, a Spring of Teal, a Brace of Grouse, a Rasp of Guineafowl, a Nob of Waterfowl.
Memories hit me every day of times when the fierceness of their flight inspires me to capture these moments I have studied and enjoyed.
About the Artist:
As a young man I was always outside observing my surroundings. I graduated from Elsenburg College Stellenbosch in South Africa with degrees in Agriculture, Horticulture, and Oenology. I first specialized in growing roses and fruit trees in the Eastern Cape region where I taught local farm workers to play rugby and established a rugby league while they taught me how to speak their native tongue, Xhosa.
I traveled the world extensively and then settled in Tucson, Arizona where I live with my wife Sarah and two sons James and Gordon. Sarah, Yale educated in art history, finally put the palette knife in my hand. I am self-taught and express what comes naturally to me. My paintings are full of movement, deep and rich. I let the moment, mood, and my education of the subject, inspire my art.
