Table Of ContentTHE WILDLIFE ARTIST’S
HANDBOOK
Jackie Garner
First published in 2013 by
The Crowood Press Ltd
Ramsbury, Marlborough
Wiltshire SN8 2HR
www.crowood.com
This e-book first published in 2014
©Jackie Garner 2013
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by
any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978 1 84797 608 6
Frontispiece: Dancing Cranes by Jackie Garner (watercolour).
Title page: King Penguin by Jackie Garner (watercolour).
Cover images: Heading Home by Jackie Garner (acrylic); Roach Studies by David Miller (graphite
and oil on board); Whooper Swan Preening by Celia Smith (steel wire, copper wire and electrical
cabling); Red Admiral and Mayweed by Darren Woodhead (watercolour); Dancing Cranes by Jackie
Garner (watercolour); Red Rut II by Alison Ingram (oil on canvas).
Credits
Green, Gold & Dun © estate of C.F. Tunnicliffe OBE RA, reproduced by kind permission of John
Huddleston. Contemporary artwork photographed by the artist unless specified below. Chris Hindley
and Philip Nelson’s sculptures – photography: Chris Hindley; Nadin Senft’s Night Flight –
photography: William Jordan; Celia Smith’s sculptures – photography: Peter Stone; Ken Waterfield’s
Nine Day Wonders – photography: Barry Wilson. All illustrations by Jackie Garner, except where
specified. Every effort has been made by the author and publisher to contact the copyright holders of
the works illustrated in this book. Should any omissions have been made and the correct source not
been noted, the publishers will rectify this at the earliest opportunity.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
Foreword
1. WILDLIFE IN ART
2. HOW TO DRAW WILDLIFE
3. PAINTING AND MIXED MEDIA
4. OUT OF THE STUDIO, INTO THE WILD
5. ANATOMY AND MOVEMENT
6. COMPOSITION
7. PRINTMAKING AND SCULPTURE
8. PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE WILDLIFE ARTIST
9. ESTABLISHING YOUR ART
Appendix
About the Author
Contributing Artists
Index
Jackie Garner: Owls of Ancient Egypt, watercolour. Painting inspired by
similarities and differences in an owl hieroglyph, despite varying geography
and chronology.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I seem to have spent most of my life wanting to write and illustrate books
about art, wildlife, or ideally both subjects together. Bruce Pearson has
always been an inspiration and I am indebted to him for writing the
foreword, letting me include his images and most of all for suggesting me
as author of this book.
A huge thank you goes to Simon Trapnell and the team at Nature in Art
Museum, who have not only been encouraging and supportive from the
book’s earliest days, but have generously allowed reproduction of works
from their collection.
I would particularly like to thank West Midland Safari Park for
generously sponsoring my access to their extensive collection for sketching
and research trips.
This book would not have been possible without wholehearted support
from other wildlife artists. I have been thrilled and honoured by their
enthusiastic encouragement when the book was just a concept, and later in
their generous responses to my requests for artwork. A special thank you,
too, to Jonathan Pointer for going the extra mile.
John Hague (http://thedrunkbirder.wordpress.com/) kindly gave
permission for his photograph of a woodcock wing-stretching to be
included in Jonathan Pointer’s case study, for which he has my grateful
thanks.
I am delighted to include works by George Lodge and Charles
Tunnicliffe OBE, RA in the book, and so would like to thank Brian Bird, of
the George Edward Lodge Trust, and John Huddleston for kindly making
those images available to me. I had the good fortune to meet Meg Stevens
on several occasions, enjoying her wit and artistic talent. Her art and words
live on after her, and I thank Roger Stevens for his kind permission to quote
her in this book.
Heartfelt thanks go to the following for their expert advice when my own
knowledge was insufficient: Mike Amphlett (photography), John Brinkley
(optical equipment), Richard Sale (Inuit sculpture), Nadin Senft (sculpture),
The Mammal Society, Natural England.
Thank you to Katrina van Grouw for enthusiastic and generous
encouragement from the outset.
Thank you to Linda Barnes, Rosemary Gowland and Cath Hodsman for
ideas and input right at the beginning when this book only existed in my
imagination.
Near the bottom of this list but at the top of my appreciation, I would
like to thank the best and most supportive family anyone could wish for,
who have gone above and beyond the call of duty. Particular thanks to
Paula Wilson, for not just going the extra mile, but for going several extra
miles.
And a final thank you to KB for keeping his promise, through thick and
thin, to be 100 per cent supportive.
I could not have done it without you all.
Bruce Pearson: Bait Digger and Brents, relief print.
FOREWORD
Books about, and by, wildlife artists are plentiful enough, with every
volume uniquely inspiring – whether it is a celebratory biographical
examination of an artist’s creative output with dazzling reproductions of
their finished works, or an autobiographical account of a journey or artistic
theme with telling insights into the artist’s creative processes. Although
each volume provides a visual feast, collectively they tend not to explain in
detail the mechanics of making the art or linger on the methods and
materials involved, nor do they fully expand on basic themes like
composition or tackle broader issues such as the context of their subject
within the rich heritage of wildlife portrayal in art history.
However, from my experience as president of the Society of Wildlife
Artists for ten years, and a working lifetime’s involvement in other art
forums, those kinds of questions are exactly what most of those interested
in art and the natural world – aspiring artists especially – are seeking
guidance about and answers to. Over the years I have had everything, from
the rather naive ‘Is it better to use a range of pencils when sketching?’ to
the very direct ‘I dream of one day earning a living from wildlife art. What
direction would you advise a student artist to take?’ From the challenging
‘Why do you think that wildlife art is held in such low esteem by the
contemporary art world outside of specialist galleries?’ to the slightly
confused ‘I am just starting to paint with watercolour and am a keen
photographer. Will photographs help my art?’ However vague or focused,
invariably at the end of every question was ‘Any advice will be greatly
appreciated. Thank you.’ If only on all of those occasions I could have
simply answered ‘Take a look at Jackie Garner’s Wildlife Artists’
Handbook.’
This book is a much needed and very thorough practical guide to wildlife
art that goes way beyond the conventions of a step-by-step guide. It
incorporates a history of the genre, chapters about composition, field-craft,
