Earth’s Wild Beauty

ARTWORK DESCRIPTION

Cy Baker was named Overall Winner of Wildlife Artist of the Year 2022. With the prize money he travelled to Uganda to experience the wonderful work of the Uganda Conservation Foundation. Whilst there he went out early one morning with one of the rangers, Jimmy, for a day tracking a group of lions as they hunted. Cy’s wish with this drawing is to capture the way the pride of lions interact with each other and the way their prey interact with them. 

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Cy Baker lives in a time where most of the world is finally waking up to the environmental crisis mankind brought into being. He considers his job as an artist is to spread the message of how valuable, beautiful and fragile our planet is. He feels his part in this is to try to capture and communicate some of the raw, spiritual emotion felt when interacting with nature. Cy comments that he cannot capture the way these moments touch one’s soul in words, photographs or music, so he does so in the only way he knows, through his artwork.

ARTWORK DESCRIPTION

Inspiration for this painting by Paul Burgess came from the subtle beauty of nature in autumn and the atmospheres it creates. Paul observes how he loves the peaceful calm of this woodland and the mystery of its grey autumn veil, liking the idea that the trees were whispering to each other whilst dancing nature’s samba.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Paul Burgess is a contemporary landscape artist whose unique semi-abstract style has become hugely popular with art lovers and collectors worldwide. The main inspiration for his work comes from the Wye Valley and surrounding area where he has lived and worked for most of his life. There is also a deeply personal aspect to his paintings which explores his interest in how all things in the natural world are inextricably connected.

ARTWORK DESCRIPTION

Inspired by her entanglement and connection with nature, Tilia Holmes’ pyrography piece ‘Entwined’ encourages people to get lost in the layers of detail and diverse colours. Using wood as her canvas, the illustration is burnt in then embellished with oil paints, creating a window into the woodland using a natural resource.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Tilia Holmes is a UK based artist and has exhibited her artwork across the country. She is represented by Dansel Gallery, which specialises in quality contemporary woodwork. Creating a window into forests and woodlands, Tilia celebrates the importance of trees and highlights their beauty by capturing the play of dappled light on leaves and branches using the ancient art form of pyrography. Using natural edged, sustainably sourced timber as a canvas, her process starts with an illustration burnt onto wood, where she creates tones and marks using different levels of heat, and then brings the piece alive with oil paint.

ARTWORK DESCRIPTION

James Summerbell’s colourful painting illustrates the juxtaposition between the wild and the urban and how the two coexist together side by side. It was James’ inspiration that beauty can be found on both sides of this coexistence.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

James Summerbell (b.1983) grew up on a dairy farm. He had an interest in art from an early age and went on to gain a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design. James’ work is inspired by his appreciation of the varied wildlife and rural landscapes that surround his home in West Wales, UK. An avid photographer and outdoorsman, James’ passion for exploring the vast coastal and mountainous regions of Wales has inspired his depictions of its wild inhabitants.

ARTWORK DESCRIPTION

Marcos’ intention with his sculpture was to catch the power of the gorilla through a rough modelling, using a swift move of the tool and a vivid texture. Marcos’ inspiration for this piece came from the shape as a whole, as he looked to capture the very essence of the gorilla in a sculpture.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Marcos Perez is a Spanish sculptor who graduated in Fine Arts at the Seville School. After winning several prizes in Spain, Marcos travelled to London where he worked in a foundry making sculptures for some of the most important artists in the UK.  Marcos meanwhile continued to create his own work and developed his skills as figurative sculptor. He is interested in capturing the life and the flesh of every living being.

ARTWORK DESCRIPTION

Through his bronze sculptures, Stephane’s aim is to express the strength, movement and spirit of freedom that the animals emanate, which is aptly demonstrated by the curved motion of this powerful big cat ‘Black Panther’.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Originally from a mountain village in Corsica, Stephane Deguilhen has been fascinated by the wild animals that he has observed since his childhood. After initially studying physics and chemistry, his passion led him to become a sculptor and artist. Through his sculptures, Stephane tries to express the strength, the movement and the spirit of freedom that these wild animals emit.

ARTWORK DESCRIPTION

The synergy of cultural and environmental narratives inspired Nickolaas Willems to create this large artwork. It represents the resilience and endurance of a Jewish family that found refuge within this tree during WW2. Nickolaas uses wood and fire (representing life and destruction) to burn and scrape his art pieces, using wooden panels as his canvas; heat and sandpaper as a brush of paint. This is part of a 20-tree series project, highlighting trees worldwide with their unique story and relevance.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Nickolaas Willems (1989) is a double educated Dutch artist. Working in a unique manner, within the representational field, Nickolaas uses the primitive medium of wood and fire to burn and scrape his art pieces into reality. A technique in which large wooden panels serve as his canvas, he utilises heat and sandpaper as paint. This time-intensive process requires extraordinary patience and focus by working with the natural lines of each wooden panel to create pieces that preserve the natural beauty of the material. Willems’ work explores themes of transience and time, reminding us of the impermanence of life while honouring the enduring beauty of the environment.

ARTWORK DESCRIPTION

Detlef Tibax’s artwork ‘Duma’ is a dramatic drawing of a female cheetah surrounded by the warm afternoon colours of the bushveld. The inspiration behind this piece came from a cheetah relocation Detlef attended in South Africa in 2018, the event being part of a larger reintroduction programme in some national parks near Hoedspruit. 

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Detlef is an award-winning wildlife artist and the founder of Art 4 Conservation, a Belgian charity devoted to raising funds for wildlife conservation through art. Having graduated with a degree in marine biology, Detlef’s passion for the natural world and love for art have been defining factors throughout his life. His hopes are to reconnect people to nature and raise awareness on the environmental challenges the world is facing today.

ARTWORK DESCRIPTION

Florence Cadene’s oil painting on linen canvas echoes the colours of a hot, dry and dusty environment. How glad this elephant must have been to find a watering hole to drink at and cool down in. 

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Born in 1969 and trained at the Ecole Duperre in Paris, Florence Cadene is an accomplished artist. Since 2000 her work has been largely dedicated to wildlife and concentrates on creating emotion, conveyed by a combination of light and texture. Involved in the defence of biodiversity, Florence has been a regular DSWF WAY finalist since 2016. 

ARTWORK DESCRIPTION

Tilia Holmes’ inspiration for her pyrography piece ‘Golden Hour’ came from a magical hour of light. A celebration of this beech tree, the viewer is invited to look up through the vastness of it’s branches and soak up the golden light. Each mark is burnt into the wood by hand, with golden fragments picked out in oil paints.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Tilia Holmes is a UK based artist and has exhibited her artwork across the country. She is represented by Dansel Gallery, which specialises in quality contemporary woodwork. Creating a window into forests and woodlands, Tilia celebrates the importance of trees and highlights their beauty by capturing the play of dappled light on leaves and branches using the ancient art form of pyrography. Using natural edged, sustainably sourced timber as a canvas, her process starts with an illustration burnt onto wood, where she creates tones and marks using different levels of heat, and then brings the piece alive with oil paint.

ARTWORK DESCRIPTION

Nick Jones sees icebergs as a powerful symbol of the sublimity and fragility of the natural world. In his serene painting Nick seeks to evoke something of this fragile beauty, whilst drawing attention to the adverse impact that humanity is having on the wellbeing of this extraordinary part of the world.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Nicholas Jones is a UK based painter whose work explores our relationship with the natural world. Nick’s paintings address themes of connection, vulnerability, intimacy, trust, longing, wonder and silence. His paintings are rooted in a deep desire to be more present to the endless encounters, both intimate and sublime, that come towards us when we step outdoors with hearts and eyes that are wide open. His iceberg paintings offer a haunting glimpse of the fragility and magnificence of the Arctic, a region of our world under immense stress because of global heating, and on whose wellbeing we all depend. 

ARTWORK DESCRIPTION

Living in Africa allowed Capucine Minot to experience the strength and fragility of nature and wildlife all around her. In her monochrome drawing ‘Red Earth’, a viewpoint from space expresses the power of nature, with all it’s contrasts and extremes. Capucine feels that for local wildlife there are no boundaries, they live in a world only made of forest, mountains, rivers and waterfalls, as it should be.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Capucine Minot is a French artist who has lived in Cote D’Ivoire since 2017. In 2016, after five years working in luxury marketing, she decided to start over and dedicated her life to her art.

ARTWORK DESCRIPTION

Emma Price’s painting was inspired by heathland fires in Dorset. Commenting that haze is often associated with a state of mental confusion; fire, with destruction, Emma also observes that for millennia indigenous peoples used controlled burning to maintain and protect ecosystems, promoting biodiversity. It is her thought that we may need to reintroduce such practices, working with our natural world for survival.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

A semi-abstract landscape painter working in oils, Emma Price’s paintings are influenced by her emotions and visual memories, primarily the natural landscapes within which she has lived and travelled. Her work depicts an abstraction, expressing an atmospheric ambience; much like viewing a literal landscape, Emma hopes her paintings reveal themselves more as the viewer allows themselves to become immersed within them.

ARTWORK DESCRIPTION

This monochrome drawing by Garth Swift sees elephants grazing lethargically in stifling heat. Puffs of wind bring gathering clouds to the vast sky above, and with them the promise of much needed rain to the thirsty palm forest on the savannah plains.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Growing up on a farm in Zimbabwe, Garth Swift was immersed in flora and fauna, and realised from an early age that he wanted to be an artist. After his schooling Garth studied fine art in South Africa, experimented with playing tennis, travelling the world before he finally settling into a life of creating wildlife art. Passionate about his subject, Garth wants very much to make a difference to in the public’s perception and understanding of wildlife and our planet’s delicate and fragile ecosystem.

ARTWORK DESCRIPTION

Recognising that the polar bear is becoming more vulnerable, Jessica Lennox wanted to capture in her drawing not only the beauty of a polar bear, but also the breathtaking landscape in which she resides. It is Jessica’s sincere hope that this drawing will encourage people to do all they can to protect this remarkable animal and her home before it’s too late.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Jessica Lennox is a wildlife artist based in British Colombia, Canada. She specialises in highly detailed coloured pencil drawings of her subjects and, more recently, the environment in which they reside. Jessica wants the viewer to be able to feel the fur and to read the thoughts when looking into her subject’s eyes.

ARTWORK DESCRIPTION

Having an almost mosaic-like quality, this painting by Paul Burgess is a reflection on his connection to nature and how it is experienced closer through the senses rather than the mind. Paul’s inspiration was his feeling that a scene like this beautiful woodland has a sense of vibrancy and mystery that is both fascinating and reassuring, a present-moment experience being both palpable and immediate.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Paul Burgess is a contemporary landscape artist whose unique semi-abstract style has become hugely popular with art lovers and collectors worldwide. The main inspiration for his work comes from the Wye Valley and surrounding area where he has lived and worked for most of his life. There is also a deeply personal aspect to his paintings which explores his interest in how all things in the natural world are inextricably connected.

ARTWORK DESCRIPTION

Max Denison-Pender recently spent three months in the heart of the Amazon jungle in Atalaia de Norte, Brazil. In his painting ‘Through the Jungle’, which was inspired by his stay, Max wanted to capture the beauty of the jungle but also it’s dreamy, terrifying undertones. Max found that the jungle was overwhelming in every sense, and although it was beautiful, it definitely wasn’t welcoming; an uncomfortable dream.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Max jumped straight into his art the moment he had the chance, leaving his formal education at 16 years old and studying at LARA art college. Since his first sell out show solo exhibition, ‘The Heart of London’ in Kensington in summer 2019, Max’s work has gone from strength to strength. From a Kensington pub exhibition to being picked up by Richard Green Gallery and now backed by renowned Niarchos art curator, Rupert Burgess and art dealer Anne Faggionato.
Having sold his 1/1 NFT ‘ Take Me To The Moon’, he decided to travel to South America to seek new inspirations about the “more hidden” corners of the earth. He is now currently preparing for his exhibition ‘Through the Jungle’.

ARTWORK DESCRIPTION

Hazel McNab was looking for a scene locally that spoke to her as inspiration for Earth’s Wild Beauty. She wanted one that had all the elements of nature’s energy and strength, nothing human. Land meeting sea, wind and sun. Power and beauty. The result was her reduction linocut in 25 colours, ‘Winter Sun’.

The framed piece has now sold. One additional edition is available for sale (unframed £750). 

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Hazel McNab is a printmaker living in Cornwall, England. She is inspired by the ever changing nature of the landscapes around her. Hazel loves contrasts and textures and through her work hopes to make the viewer aware of the little things they might not have otherwise noticed.

ARTWORK DESCRIPTION

This painting of a solitary iceberg floating serenely in a mirror-still sea at twilight evokes for the artist, Nick Jones, something of the sublime beauty of the Arctic. However Nick observes that ‘Solitary Berg at Twilight’ also carries for him a sense of unease at the rapidly increasing impacts of man-made climate change on the polar regions.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Nicholas Jones is a UK based painter whose work explores our relationship with the natural world. Nick’s paintings address themes of connection, vulnerability, intimacy, trust, longing, wonder and silence. His paintings are rooted in a deep desire to be more present to the endless encounters, both intimate and sublime, that come towards us when we step outdoors with hearts and eyes that are wide open. His iceberg paintings offer a haunting glimpse of the fragility and magnificence of the Arctic, a region of our world under immense stress because of global heating, and on whose wellbeing we all depend. 

ARTWORK DESCRIPTION

Jess Pritchard’s inspiration for ‘Ghost’ came from earth’s vast and spectacular landscapes, especially that of the Himalayan region where the elusive snow leopard resides. Roaming the wilderness, the snow leopard is spotted only by a lucky few, mostly in winter when their prey is forced down the mountainside. When summer comes, like a ghost, they disappear back to the peaks.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Jess Pritchard is a multi-award winning wildlife conservation artist who works solely in pencil. Since beginning her professional art career, she has taken part in many exhibitions including those held in London’s Mall Galleries and Oxo Tower and a solo exhibition at Worcester Cathedral. Jess is an artist ambassador for Derwent Art, Britain’s largest pencil brand, and has also raised thousands of pounds for various wildlife charities through her supporters and collectors worldwide. She recently launched her own wildlife fund to support select conservation projects including Painted Dog Conservation through the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation.