Jos Haigh & Nick Oneill News April 1, 2021 David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF) team is excited to introduce not one but two incredible artists for April’s Artist of the Month, Jos Haigh & Nick Oneill. Both artists are DSWF Partner Wildlife Artists and long time supporters of wildlife conservation. Jos Haigh Jos enjoys experimenting with unconventional colour combinations and creating the unexpected. She paints gentle elephants, haughty giraffes or snorting rhinos in an array of vibrant and extraordinary colours, and captures their charm in a fresh, contemporary style. She is an established artist, and exhibits in galleries and art fairs throughout the UK. “I feel privileged to be a Partner Artist for the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation. One of my earliest impressions of any art at all was at the age of 6, seeing an enormous David Shepherd painting above the mantelpiece at a friend’s home. The thundering elephant, amid clouds of dust, seemed almost to leap out of the painting towards me. The coronavirus crisis poses fresh threats for endangered species primarily due to economic losses caused by the total absence of tourism in Africa, as well as a drop in philanthropic donations. If local conservancies cannot afford to manage and protect their wildlife anymore, we will lose that habitat to settlement and we will lose these amazing wild animals. I am donating 50% of the proceeds of each sale to the DSWF because wildlife conservation charities need our donations now more than ever.” Nick Oneill Nick is a passionate scuba diver and a contemporary marine artist. Nick’s first diving adventures took place at an early age, allowing him to experience firsthand the vibrancy and amazing textures of the magnificent fish. Although he had been snorkeling for years already, learning to scuba dive at age 11 allowed Nick to experience the unique effects of light streaming through water and the changes in colours when in deep water. As a self-taught artist, he believes that this has helped him create his own style of painting. This painting is recognisable for its signature black background, however, in more recent years, he has been experimenting with base and precious metals, giving his work stunning reflective qualities. Combined with the use of high gloss art resin Nick’s latest works shine and sparkle like the oceans they represent. In 2016, he developed a technique to partially cover the canvas with tinted resins to create a never-before-seen water surface effect in his ‘Split Level’ series. Both incredible artists have supported DSWF and wildlife conservation through the power of their art, by entering Wildlife Artist of the Year or donating their artwork to auctions, they are standing against extinction. View Jos & Nick’s unique and beautiful artwork in our online shop here. Link copied
