The problem with Wildlife Art………..

The best piece of advice that I ever received with regards to my art came from my secondary school art teacher, Mrs O’Donavan, and the advice was to draw/paint whatever you are passionate about!

That is something that has stuck with me down through the years, and even more so since 2008 when I started to paint with oils.  My passion is wildlife, whether it is native to Ireland or the more exotic animals of Africa or Asia. For me and millions of others a world without these incredible animals would be a very dull place indeed.

However, from my experience wildlife art is not hugely sought after by potential art buyers. The few times a year that I do exhibit I receive great feedback and my paintings put a lot of smiles on faces. As the old saying goes, “if I got 50cent for every compliment I’d be a successful artist”

(the beautiful Amur tiger, the reason I love wildlife art!)

There are a lot of wildlife programmes on the TV and a lot of books and magazines on the subject too, so there is great interest and fascination out there in the whole area of wildlife and conservation.  The down side to this, for a wildlife artist, is that while people have an interest, they may not have a connection.

The reason I’m a wildlife artist is that I have a huge connection. Over the past 10 years I would choose wildlife destinations as my holiday destination in the hope of seeing these incredible animals in their natural habits. 

So I continually ask myself do I change to a more commercial subject?  I’ll be honest, I have tried. I’ve painted some landscapes in the past, but after the first one or two, I started to add the odd animal here and there. Before I knew it the animal was becoming the main focus of the painting and the landscape just became the background.

I have painted a few commissions outside the wildlife spectrum, and quite successfully too.  These would mainly be in the area of portraits, both people and pets, which I enjoyed very much.  But if I’m not working on a commission I have hundreds of ideas for wildlife paintings and drawings just itching to make their way to the canvas.

I’ll end with this, in the words of Andy Warhol:

Don’t think about making art, just get it done!

Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it,

And while they are deciding, make even more art.

Original Art

I had a few paintings in a small exhibition earlier this year and one of my paintings was of a baby orang-utan clutching a human hand. I titled the painting “Don’t let them go”.

The painting was based on a photograph I found in a book, so although it wasn’t an original idea, but it was an original painting based on this particular photograph.

On seeing my painting, a young lady mentioned to me that she recognised the image and asked if I had permission form the photographer to use the photo to produce my painting?

I obviously hadn’t permission from neither the photographer nor the publication, but it did get me thinking…….. Is it acceptable to use published photographs to create a painting?

 I always work from photographs; majority of which would be my own, taken on my many wildlife trips over the years. Often I would use parts from published photos to use in my own paintings. This would usually be something that I feel would enhance my painting, like certain type of sky or landscape.  On rare occasions I would see a photo that so totally overwhelmed me that I would reproduce that photo in my painting, but use artistic licence, and add some additional aspect to the painting.

When I’m asked about a painting I would always tell people where my idea came from and what inspired me to paint it. If my painting was based on a subject from a photograph, as in this case, I would say so.

Where I would draw the line (excuse the pun) is trying reproducing another artist work. That for me would be unacceptable, as not only would you be copying their work, you would also be copying their ideas.

the old lioness of Dublin Zoo

Passed away a couple of hours in Dublin Zoo Sunday morning and I went for a wander through the African plains. I past Sheila, the 25 year old lioness who was basking in the rare piece of filtered sunlight pouring through the dense foliage in her enclosure. She seemed so contented and was beautifully lit by the sun that I started to sketch her. Yet the more I looked at her the more she seemed to have really aged over the last few years. I recalled the times I used to watch herself & Matt, the great specimen of the African male lion, who spent many years together in the same enclosure and how they were so at ease in each other’s company.

Matt died back in 2008 and I couldn’t help but wonder as I watched Sheila if she still mourned the loss of her companion of so many years.

Scientist would argue that many animals don’t have the capacity for feelings such as loss or grief, as it would disrupt the natural cycle of life. It takes a lioness around two years to raise cubs to an age when they can look after themselves and she won’t breed again until this time. When a male lion takes over a pride they won’t protect the offspring of another male, therefore they will kill the cubs. As most male lions only hold a pride for two to three years before they are ousted by others, so they must breed as quickly as possible. Killing the cubs brings the lionesses back into breeding condition, so that they will mate with the new males and give birth to their cubs.

(a quick sketch of Sheila)

While this is certainly true, I can’t help but believe that somewhere deep within the memory of Sheila she recalls, maybe only faintly, moments of her life with Matt. And at times, like this particular morning her heart might just weigh a little heavy as she remembers her lost friend.

Iceland Painting

I went to Iceland in January 2011, and for anyone who hasn’t been there, the scenery is truly incredible. It reminded me somewhat of the scenes from the Lord of the Ring films as you can see hundreds of waterfalls of various sizes cascading over the rock formations as you drove through the ever changing landscape. I took hundreds of photos with the best intention of putting some of these incredible scenes on canvas. Just recently I started my first Icelandic painting. It’s based on what I believe is one of the most spectacular waterfalls I’ve had the privilege of seeing, Skogafoss falls . The reason I love this waterfall is that you can walk uninterrupted straight up to the base of the falls and experience the thousands of tons of water drop over sixty meters right in front of you. You can also experience the falls from its precarious top, where you have stunning views of the Skogá River heading for the ocean.

On the grassy verges on either side of the falls you can find hundreds of gulls and the random puffin basking in the misty spray generated from the falls.

So my painting is trying to capture both the awesome size and power of the falls and the quite harmony of the birds that rest and play around the falls. Below is the almost completed painting. A couple hours work left to tighten up a few areas, but otherwise I’m almost there with it.

I’ll post the finished painting on my Facebook page in the next few days.                 http://www.facebook.com/pages/Art-works-by-Morgan-Gibbs/134277539959397

revisiting Dublin Zoo

I paid a visit Dublin Zoo yesterday morning for the first time  in a long time. I recently renewed my annual pass and as it was a beautiful sunny morning, I went early before the crowds would arrive, (and as it turned out…the rain)

I renewed my membership as I recently came across my Zoo notes from the time I was a volunteer in Dublin Zoo back in 2008, and memories of being “out & about” came flooding back to me. I used to really look forward to this part of the volunteering as it involved being there to answer any questions from the public about various animals. Hence the reason I compiled my own notes. I used to know the majority of the animals names and was quite well up on all the interesting facts such as where they were from, what they ate, how they lived and their status on the world endangered list.

As I had visited so many parts of Africa, the African plains was area of the zoo I liked to hang out and used to tell the kids some of the stories of my African safari adventures which went down pretty well.

So it was a real pleasure to be back again, and being there very early I got to hear the gibbons with their morning calls as their hoots carry a good distance in the morning air. Part of me (and my ego) felt like they were saying “hey Morgan’s back!!  

On this visit I brought my camera to take pictures of some old friends and new arrivals which I hope to use in a new series of paintings, such as the one above of Harry the silverback.

If you haven’t been to Dublin Zoo in a while, treat yourself & go. It’s such a fabulous place to lose yourself for a few hours. Go for a wander and watch these incredible & beautiful animals as they will completely capture your imagination & help you forget about everything else for a while.

Art Seen: Art comes to (wild)life — Summer show renders Alaska fauna in fine detail

Reblogged from The Mouth of The Kenai:

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By Zirrus VanDevere, for the Redoubt Reporter

The Kenai Visitors and Cultural Center is gearing up for its big summertime art show that opens Friday with a catered gala bash. “Alaska 2012: A Celebration of Wildlife Art” is the third time wildlife has taken center stage for the summer art show at the center.

Curated once again by Dr. David Wartinbee, who is an avid collector of wildlife art, the participating artist list reads like a who’s who in the wildlife art world.

Read more… 658 more words

some incredible wildlife art on show in Alaska, pitty it's just too far to attend, likes like it will be a great show!!

Savannah Sounds

I  was recently invited to take part in an unusual art exhibition for the Musical Youth Foundation charity.

Over a hundred artists put aside their canvases and used the body of a musical instument to create a piece of art with a difference.  The opening night of the exhibition was last Friday in St Stephens Green exhibition centre and was offically opened by Shay Healy and Paul Harrington.

My piece shows a lioness setting off in the evening to hunt, while her two young cubs look on. As soon as I received the violin form the MYF charity I had a clear idea of what I wanted to do. My main aim was to keep the colouring as close to the original rich colours of the violin, which resemble the colours of an African sunset. I also reshaped the fret to the shape of a branch, which allowed me to use more of the base of the instrument for the painting.

I received an email from the the Music Youth Foundation yesterday  evening and was delighted to hear that my entry “Savannah Sounds” – Oil on Violin – was sold on the opening night and met its reserve price.

Great news for the Musical Youth Foundation and myself.

(special credit goes to my wife Mairead for coming up with the title Savannah Sounds)