Nature Canada's 2016 "Art for Nature" Auction

Beaver

Size: Mixed Media – 20 x 16.5”

Freestyle painting, made of acrylics and mixed media

Artist: Karin Taylor

Karin Taylor is a Dutch born wildlife artist, she started out as a watercolor artist in the early 90's.

Karin and her family lived and worked in the Far and Middle East for many years before emigrating to western Canada in 1997. Her compassion for wildlife inspired her to become the house artist for the FOZ at Ragunan Zoo in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Karin prefers to work with unusual canvases and materials: her choice of 'canvas' has ranged from huge boulders to wild turkey feathers.

Currently she hand-sculpts wildlife statues out of wood cellulose and creates wildlife paintings in acrylics and mixed media.

Her feather and 3D art has been part of the Western Art Show of the Calgary Stampede for over 15 years now and she has done TV specials for HGTV and Chinese/Canadian TV. Her work can be seen at her studio, local art shows and occasionally in Canadian galleries. 

To view more of Karin’s wildlife art please visit www.karintaylorart.com.

Blue Heron

Size: Watercolour - 14 x 10"

Artist: Christopher Potter

After a 30-year career in the logging industry – work which took him to remote corners of British Columbia’s coastline – Christopher Potter turned from forestry to fine art.

Early retirement allowed him to complete a long-time goal: walking the 800-kilometre Camino de Santiago de Compostella across Northern Spain. It contributed to the development of his artist’s eye. More travel followed – to countries in Asia, Europe and the Americas, thanks to his work as a photographer with HolidayMaker, a Canadian travel magazine.

The next challenge was to capture some of the many images – resulting from his appreciation of nature and different cultures – in a painterly way.

Christopher is an Active Member of the Canadian Federation of Artists, and of the Garibaldi Art Club. His work is included in private collections in Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, and has appeared in the following shows and galleries in British Columbia

To view more of Christopher’s work please visit www.christopherpotter.ca.

Build and Maintain

Size: Arcrylic - 9 x 18", framed 15 x 24”

This painting is featured in W. Allan Hancocks book Amazing Animals: The Remarkable Things That Creatures Do, written by Margriet Ruurs, published by Tundra Books.

Artist: W. Allan Hancock

W. Allan Hancock has had a fascination with the natural world from his childhood day.  He spent most of his youth in Saskatchewan where abandoned homestead and the remnants of human heritage also began to leave a lasting impression.

Allan’s artwork has been selected for numerous fund-raising projects for wildlife and habitat conservation purposes. In 1996, he became the youngest artist ever selected as Ducks Unlimited Canada’s Artist of the Year and was honoured with the Waterfowl Art Award.

Today, Allan resides on Salt Spring island with his wife and children and his paintings can be found in collections throughout Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia. 

To view more of Allan’s work please visit www.wallanhancock.com

Lily Pads

Size: Oil on Canvas – 48 x 36”

This is painted based on beautiful Petrie island in east end of Ottawa.

Artist: Virginia Dupuis

Virginia is a graduate of the 3 year Fine Arts Diploma at the Ottawa School of Art. In the final year she refined her oil painting practice by completing two Advanced Studios in oil painting, as well as two Apprenticeships in oil painting with a concentration into colour theory.

Virginia was the recipient of both the Ted Marshall Scholarship and the Morton Baslaw Watercolour Scholarship at the Ottawa School of Art. She has also won Best in Show at the Ottawa School of Art Instructors and Student Annual Show and Sale for three consecutive years.

Virginia won Juror’s Awards in the Arteast Annual Juried Awards Show for five consecutive years, each in a different medium, as well as the Juror’s Award for AOE Arts Council Selections 2011 show.

She was awarded a grant from the AOE Arts Council to present her work on the Lalande and Doyle Exhibition Space in Shenkman Arts Centre, as well as Exhibition Assistance grants from the Ontario Arts Council.

Virginia is a juried team member of the Kanata Civic Art Gallery, Art Lending of Ottawa and an elected member of the Society of Canadian Artists.

 To view more of Virginia’s visual art please visit www.virginiadupuis.com.

Siesta - Burrowing Owl

Size: Watercolour – 5 x 7”, framed 8 x 10”

Thie piece features the Burrowing Owl. This species is listed as Endangered in Canada and Threatened in Mexico.  They stand only 7-10 inches tall and can be found in dry open areas where they feed in insects, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians. 

Artist: Sherri Freisman

Sherri was born in London, Ontario, and from her earliest childhood can remember being fascinated with all kinds of wildlife and with trying to draw what she observed. Photography quickly became as much of a passion as her art and it gave me a new source of subject matter - she was able to work from many of her own photos or supplement her compositions with scenes she had captured. Several years spent working strictly in pencil and pen & ink allowed me to focus on obtaining realism without the complication of adding colour. For Sherri, the devil is in the details and the challenge of improving her technique is one of the things that drives me to keep producing artwork. She eventually moved on to working with colour; acrylics and coloured pencil were then her medium of choice. She has been fortunate to have the opportunity to travel widely throughout Canada, the US, Europe, Australia, Greenland and Britain. She always keeps her camera and a small sketchbook handy to capture ideas for paintings or drawings she can complete later. Annual trips to Point Pelee National Park and weekends spent roaming the backroads of Southwestern Ontario have fueled her store of ideas for new paintings of the wildlife and natural areas that reside in and around home.

In the last few years She has taken up the challenge of working in watercolour. She has always been fascinated by artists who have mastered the ability to create beautifully detailed works with a medium that is so fluid and transparent. 

To view more of Sherri’s Photography and Watercolour Paintings please visit www.bullfrogstudio.com.

Snow Geese at Nest

Size: Signed and Stamped Print - 17 x 15.5"

This 1989 Stamp and Print, entitled “Snow Geese at Nest” by Canadian wildlife artist, Jean-Luc Grondin was generously donated by Wildlife Habitat Canada.

This 1989 print is a special piece, as it commemorated WHC’s 5^th anniversary and the 5^th Stamp in the Canadian Wildlife Habitat Conservation Stamp series.

“Although it is true that snow geese nest mainly in colonies, I chose to focus my painting on a single couple. I used back-lighting to enhance the definition of the birds in the relatively dark setting; while the flowering willow herbs in the foreground discreetly complement the colour of the pair’s beak and legs.”

– Jean-Luc Grondin

Artist: Jean-Luc Grondin

French Canadian artist, Jean-Luc Grondin has two great passions. One is birds, the other is painting birds. Depending on his familiarity with the subject, he may make as many as 25 to 30 sketches before beginning to paint. Grondin always works in gouache, which he feels allows him to more perfectly capture the muted colours of the northern birds of the Laurentians.

Spotted Owl

Size: Stone Lithograph – 17 x 18”

This unframed hand-drawn stone lithograph is of the Spotted Owl. These endangered owls are only found in southwestern British Columbia. They need old-growth forest to nest and hunt, and with increasing populations of their chief competitor, the barred owl, their situation is dire.

Artist: Elisabeth Sommerville

Elisabeth Sommerville was born in Calgary, Alberta and graduated from the Alberta College of Art in 1963. She moved to Vancouver, B.C. and worked as a designer before setting up her own award winning graphic design studio.

In 1995 she became interested in printmaking and began fine arts studies at the University of British Columbia and Malaspina Printmakers Society, where she found her drawing skills worked well with stone lithography. Her years of hands-on experience with graphic design, done before the introduction of computers, helped to hone her skills as a printmaker.

She draws and processes the litho stones and pulls her own prints on a lithographic press. Her childhood in Alberta and her Métis heritage combined to give Elisabeth a respect for nature; something visible in her sweeping prairie vistas and seascapes. Her images, land or sea, experiment with the moods evoked by natural light, weather and changes of the seasons.

Elisabeth has been an active member of Malaspina ­Printmakers Studio since 1998. She is also a member of The Federation of Canadian Artists, and in 2015 their Board of Directors awarded Elisabeth with her SFCA Signature Status. Juries have selected her work for exhibitions in Canada, Japan, Cuba and the U.S. Her work is in ­collections in Canada, Europe, Australia and the U.S.

To view more of Elisabeth’s work please visit www.elisabethsommerville.com.

The Commuters

Size: Stone Lithograph – 18 x  24”

Artist: Elisabeth Sommerville

Elisabeth Sommerville was born in Calgary, Alberta and graduated from the Alberta College of Art in 1963. She moved to Vancouver, B.C. and worked as a designer before setting up her own award winning graphic design studio.

In 1995 she became interested in printmaking and began fine arts studies at the University of British Columbia and Malaspina Printmakers Society, where she found her drawing skills worked well with stone lithography. Her years of hands-on experience with graphic design, done before the introduction of computers, helped to hone her skills as a printmaker.

She draws and processes the litho stones and pulls her own prints on a lithographic press. Her childhood in Alberta and her Métis heritage combined to give Elisabeth a respect for nature; something visible in her sweeping prairie vistas and seascapes. Her images, land or sea, experiment with the moods evoked by natural light, weather and changes of the seasons.

Elisabeth has been an active member of Malaspina ­Printmakers Studio since 1998. She is also a member of The Federation of Canadian Artists, and in 2015 their Board of Directors awarded Elisabeth with her SFCA Signature Status. Juries have selected her work for exhibitions in Canada, Japan, Cuba and the U.S. Her work is in ­collections in Canada, Europe, Australia and the U.S.

To view more of Elisabeth’s work please visit www.elisabethsommerville.com.

Yellow Warbler

Size: Watercolour – 11 x 14”, framed 16 x 20”

Artist: Sherri Freisman

Sherri was born in London, Ontario, and from her earliest childhood can remember being fascinated with all kinds of wildlife and with trying to draw what she observed. Photography quickly became as much of a passion as her art and it gave me a new source of subject matter - she was able to work from many of her own photos or supplement her compositions with scenes she had captured. Several years spent working strictly in pencil and pen & ink allowed me to focus on obtaining realism without the complication of adding colour. For Sherri, the devil is in the details and the challenge of improving her technique is one of the things that drives me to keep producing artwork. She eventually moved on to working with colour; acrylics and coloured pencil were then her medium of choice. She has been fortunate to have the opportunity to travel widely throughout Canada, the US, Europe, Australia, Greenland and Britain. She always keeps her camera and a small sketchbook handy to capture ideas for paintings or drawings she can complete later. Annual trips to Point Pelee National Park and weekends spent roaming the backroads of Southwestern Ontario have fueled her store of ideas for new paintings of the wildlife and natural areas that reside in and around home.

In the last few years She has taken up the challenge of working in watercolour. She has always been fascinated by artists who have mastered the ability to create beautifully detailed works with a medium that is so fluid and transparent. 

To view more of Sherri’s Photography and Watercolour Paintings please visit www.bullfrogstudio.com.

Crossing Guard

Size: Print – 11 x 14.5”

Limited edition Laura Pepper print signed by the artist.  ‘Crossing Guard’ was inspired by the love parents have for their offspring. 

Artist: Laura Pepper

Born in Windsor Ontario, Laura Pepper has always been drawn to nature.  Early on she felt a sense of peace around wildlife, never without her camera seeking out the beauty of nature.  She is always trying to catch a glimpse of wildlife in its undisturbed state, appreciating every creature big and small.  Being from an artistic family, Laura developed a love for drawing and painting to compliment her love of nature.  Now, a mother and educator, Laura tries to promote art and its connection to nature, both being important parts of the human spirit.

To view more of Laura’s artwork, please visit laurapepperartist.com

Eastern Bluebirds

Size: Signed Print - 24 x 20”

The print is signed by the artist and numbered 204/300.

Artist: Fen Lansdowne

The late James Fenwick Lansdowne was a self-taught Canadian wildlife artist. Lansdowne was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Victoria, British Columbia. His first show was at the Royal Ontario Museum in 1956. Lansdowne's detailed watercolours of birds often feature a specific species against a largely white background, his subjects tend to display a lifelike quality and natural posture. His work has been presented to members of the British Royal Family by the Government of Canada. In 1976, Lansdowne was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 1995, he was awarded the Order of British Columbia. In 1974, he was elected a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.

Getting to Know

Size: Print - 11 x 14.5”

 Unframed Limited edition Robert Bateman print signed by artist. "Getting to know" was created by Robert Bateman to celebrate children's love of nature and learning.

Artist: Robert Bateman

Born in Toronto, Robert Bateman has been a keen artist and naturalist from his early days. He has always painted wildlife and nature, beginning with a representational style, moving through impressionism and cubism to abstract expressionism. In his early thirties he moved back to realism as a more suitable way to express the particularity of the planet. It is this style that has made him one of the foremost artists depicting the world of nature.

His honors’, awards and honorary doctorates are numerous: he was made Officer of the Order of Canada, the country's highest civilian award in 1984. He has also been given the Rachel Carson Award (1996), the Golden Plate from the American Academy of Achievement (1998) and the Order of British Columbia (2001), and Human Rights Defender Award from Amnesty International (2007); he was named one of the 20th Century's Champions of Conservation by the U.S. National Audubon Society (1998).

Robert Batemen is a world renowned artist who was the recipient of the Douglas H. Pimlott Award in 2009. He has kindly donated use of selected images to Nature Canada to support our conservation and education efforts.

Through his long association with Mill Pond Press, thousands of wildlife lovers the world over have been able to enjoy Bateman prints.

Red Tail Hawk Mantling

Size: Print - framed 38 x 19”

“I remember painting this wintery picture right in the heart of a hot summer. I wished it was winter in that I could take a walk along one of our stone fences to see how the moss and lichen poke through the snow. Winter was far off though, so I used what reference material I could find and a large measure of memory and imagination. The patterns made by the light, rock, moss and lichen were all items I needed to orchestrate, and having done similar things before didn’t make the problem and easier.

The hawk is in a “mantling” attitude, a posture I find exciting and one that is common to many birds of prey. They do this after they have made a kill, spreading their wings to cover and protect their victim. I haven’t shown what it is the hawk has killed, leaving that part to the imagination of the viewer. Anyone who is familiar with these birds will know what my hawk is doing even though no element of the actual prey is visible” – George McLean

Artist: George McLean

George McLean has always loved animals of all sorts and felt he had no other way of communicating his feelings for them, except through his work. He says that his ambition is to paint more pictures better and to deal with his subjects in situations which are not photographable. His painstaking attention to detail and subtle shading require endless hours before the easel and he produces only six or seven major paintings each year.

Winter Light Rays

Size: Canvas Print - 24 x 36

"Winter Light Rays".  Photographed during a foggy January morning at Britannia Conservation Area (aka Mud Lake) in Ottawa's west end, just as the fog started to lift, letting sun rays penetrate through to the forest floor.  This image won 1st place of Canadian Geographic's photography contest in the Landscapes category.

Artist: Daniel Cadieux

Daniel Cadieux was born, raised, and still lives in Canada’s National capital: Ottawa, Ontario. Growing up next to the forests and marshes found along the Ottawa River, Daniel spent many days of his youth walking these areas, binoculars strung around his neck, observing and learning about nature. Occasionally he would borrow his father’s 35mm camera to try and capture what he saw. The bird photography seed was planted. Today Daniel still spends most of his free time out and about the local trails and birding hotspots. Since 2005 digital SLR equipment has permanently joined his binoculars as outdoor tools when he roams about and captures his favorite wildlife subjects for all to enjoy.

To view more of Daniel’s award-winning wildlife photography, please visit www.dancadphotography.com and www.facebook.com/dancadphotography

Free Range

Size: Ceramic Sculpture -  10 x 8 x 3”

This is ceramic bison with copper wire support was created by Raku firing and other finish techniques that help to give ceramic figures a defining attitude.

Artist: Sandra Marshall

Sandra’s art training began at the Montréal museum of fine arts children’s art classes where her favourite times there was modeling clay. Later, in architecture school at McGill, she especially loved the life drawing and sketching schools. She returned to working with clay at the mount royal pottery studio during the early years of family life, to give herself that undeniable pleasure of self-expression. There she learned wheel-throwing, but found she was drawn most to hand building. Upon moving to Ottawa in the early 1990’s, she have continued to explore this art form, taking workshops with Leta Cormier, Michael Sheba, Les Manning, Jim Thompson and others while working out of her own studio. She is a member of the national capital network of sculpture and a long standing member of the Ottawa guild of potters – previously guild newsletter editor, communications and promotions chair and a coordinator of the great bowl of fire charity fundraiser and now workshop coordinator.

To view more of Sandra’s work please visit www.sandramarshall.com

Survival

Size: Stoneware - 23.75 x 15.5 x 13”

This piece was created in 2011 from stoneware and red iron oxide.

Artist: Hilde Lambrechts

Hilde was born in Sint-Truiden, Belgium, and  a Dutch citizen from 1982 until she obtained Canadian citizenship in 2015. Hilde draws and sculpts in a variety of media. She sees art as a means of communication and therefore her artistic expression changes with the nature of the conversation.

A recurring theme in her work is the dominance of human beings and their interaction with and impact on the environment. Her drawings are usually centered around the human form, whereas her sculptures often depict other species or structures occurring in nature. When dealing with autobiographical content she explores the effect of my own environment, history and life events on shaping the multi-faceted mosaic that is Hilde. In that respect, her self-portraits and sculptures are extensions of one another.

To view more of Hilde’sStoneware and Ink Drawings please visit www.h-art.ca