Artist For Conservation Show 2009

What a great experience it was attending the Artist For Conservation show in September. On arrival at the Hilton there in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, we were given our show companion book. Of course I had to turn immediately to the Chris Woolley page to see Kubla represented as the "King of Nepal." It looked great as did the rest of the book. If you like wildlife art books this book should definitely be in your collection.

Friday the artist were the guest of the Wildlife Conservation Society at the Bronx Zoo in New York. After a bus ride into the city we were given a ticket and turned loose to wander the zoo for the day. It truly is one of the finest zoos in the country with the grounds set in a heavily wooded rolling landscape.

That evening we gathered at the museum to see the show and get to know some of our fellow nature artists. In this photo I'm talking with Guy Combs, son of the great wildlife artist Simon Combs. Later Terry Woodall gave a talk about his expedition to study the rare freshwater seals of Lake Baikal in Russia. David Ranken also spoke about his expedition to the headwaters of the Ganges. Both talks were fascinating and inspirational.




I know how much time and effort it takes me to create my best work and to see this collection of work was amazing. The quality of the art was supreme. I love looking at art in books but seeing originals in a museum always impresses upon me how the art has a spirit about it which has to be seen to be understood. Standing in front of an original is an experience which gives the viewer the sense that art has a life force about it. Partly it is the soul of the artist coming through in the work but equally it is the art itself breathing on its own.

Saturday we rode into New York to visit the American Museum of Natural History. Fortunately for us one of the artist in the AFC show was Stephan Quinn who is the Senior Exhibition Manager at AMNH. Stephan took the group on a personal tour of the museum showing us the workshops where the exhibits are created. He also gave us a fascinating talk on the diorama painters the museum has employed since the 1800's. Stephan certainly knows perhaps more than anyone about these artist and their masterpieces in the museum. In fact Stephan has published a beautiful book on the subject called "Windows on Nature."

Saturday night the artist gathered at the Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum for a lovely dinner and awards ceremony. Kudos to:

AFC Medals of Excellence

• Carel Brest Van Kempen for his "Creekside Conclave -Varied Harlequin Toads" This is the artwork that is featured on the cover of this year's show companion book,
• Jim Coe for "Snowy Fields",
• Guy Combes for his "The Creche" of an elephant family
• Andrea Rich for her woodblock print "Cranes in the Mist", and
• Mary Taylor for her life size metal sculpture "The Filly".

Blauvelt Museum Purchase Award
Chairman of the Blauvelt Museum, James Bellis Jr., presented the Blauvelt Purchase Award to Robert Glen for his bronze casting, "Warthog Running".

Wildscape Editor's Choice Award
This year the award went to Patricia Pepin for her painting "Takhi".

AFC Globetrotters Award
Travelling the greatest distance was Chris McClelland with his wife Margie from Hay, New South Wales, Australia, only slightly edging out Lyn Ellison and Peta Boyce, also from Australia. The AFC is purchasing a Gold Standard carbon offset for the carbon footprint left by Chris' travels.

Simon Combes Conservation Award
This year's recipient was renowned American artist John Banovich. John has shown extraordinary support for the conservation cause through his artwork.

Sunday was the official opening of the show to the public. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet some very nice folks and avid wildlife enthusiast from the New York area. The day was a great culmination to three wonderful days of wildlife art and wildlife artist. Being able to meet some of the finest artist in the world was a privilege. Talking shop for us means talking about wildlife which I'll do anytime.

Hats off to Jeff Whiting the president of the Artist For Conservation for working tirelessly to see that the weekend was a success. Now lets see, what should I paint for next years show.