It all started when I was working with my father who made hand made furniture, shaping wood was part of the job and carving elaborate pieces, I progressed to carving stone and wood, clay modelling which some were transferred into bronze. I love working in different mediums and styles, over the years I’ve worked on public art, outside pieces in stone and wood. My passion for wildlife has always held my interest and started to carve birds and animals in wood and then hand paint them, I have been told that they were world class and that I was probably amongst the best bird carver in Britain, which was a bit of a shock when told. From the UK myself...
Ben Hoskyns has been a full time professional artist since 1988, specialising in oils of British Wildlife.He has developed more as a landscape artist in recent years and his studies of birds and animals are often part of a progression towards his larger pieces. The smaller landscapes, themselves, are usually part of that same development so that there may be several different versions of a particular view – a change of angle, light or narrative – but each instilling that feeling of ‘being there’ and capturing the very essence of the British countryside.He has illustrated several books and wrote and illustrated Holland & Holland’s The Nature of Game (1994), with a foreword by the Duke of Edinburgh. He has, more recently, collaborated...
Sarah graduated in Environmental Illustration at the University of Sunderland in 1996. With help from the Prince’s Trust she began printmaking full time, which started a love affair with Lino.Using traditional printing techniques, with the same set of tools she has used since her very first linocut, designs are carved into lino blocks. Prints are pulled using linseed oil ink which then allows some pieces being additionally tinted with watercolour to give added texture.Influenced by wildlife, be it fluffy, furry or feathered, Sarah has continued to explore a variety of themes, the hare being a particular favourite. The current collection of work is inspired by the seasons and the botanical elements to match each month through the year.Works are held...
I am one of those lucky people who has been fortunate to be able to pursue my passion for wildlife and painting in order to make a living. It's often said that painting is a relaxing activity, but through my 30 years as a professional artist there have been very few relaxing moment, unless I have fallen asleep before my easel. This is because to effectively communicate atmosphere and detail through the medium of watercolour requires perseverance and constant concentration. As a self taught artist every painting is a fresh lesson in the medium, often paintings fail and the only answer is to tear them up and start again. Many might regard this as a disaster, however there is nothing more...
Alistair Makinson was born in Whalley, Lancashire. Art was never expected to become Alistair’s chosen career, in fact the young boy growing up in rural Lancashire had his mind set to work alongside agriculture. This ambition materialised by selling animal health products along with general farming supplies. It was whilst recovering from a broken elbow that Alistair started to paint. His first few exhibitions were so well received by the public, that he decided to turn professional after only a year of painting. The first few years were taken up by landscape painting, and trying to find his own niche and style. In 1996, after five years painting, Alistair started to concentrate on sporting paintings, finding them more challenging and...
