On my Sunday post, I mentioned the brilliant Darren Rees, a talented wildlife painter. His works were amazing, the detail captured so well. We had a lengthy chat, about somethings that had happened before and after Birdfair. He was great to talk to, and there was no shortage of subjects either. Birds and art always combine to make the perfect mix.
Darren Rees has painted wildlife for over thirty years now, and has also written a few books, some collaborative, some solo. He has won many awards, and if anyone reading this watched Chris Packham’s Bioblitz back in 2018, he was part of the team, producing artworks at every site visited.
I discovered Darren during Lockdown, where he was also part of the Self Isolating Bird Club team with Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin. During the strange times when we were forced to be at home, I really enjoyed the self isolating bird club – it made those long strange days enjoyable, and kept my birding love going when we couldn’t travel very far. in the self isolating bird club, Darren created a printable pack on how to sketch birds using shadows, which was really cool and fun to attempt and kept me and Bertie entertained for many hours!!
What is refreshing and important about his works is he makes them from life, as in he draws from things he actually sees, and then paints that sketch. I know that many artists work from photos or memory and his method makes it relatable to what you might see when out and about birdwatching.
Whilst we chatted at Birdfair, we explained that while I was the keen birder, my brother Bertie was the resident artist in our house, and with that he reached under one of the display tables and brought out a metal box. Inside were many prints of the original sketches he had drawn to form a base for his works. And he took out two with a flourish and handed one to each of us! Bertie received an Egyptian Goose, and me a Greater Scaup. It was an incredible gift, that I was blown away to receive! I’m very excited to add it to my bird gallery in my bedroom – I think it will fit in very well!
So I told him about this blog, and we swapped cards and promised to keep in touch. He was brilliant to meet, and hopefully we bump into each other again in the future.
I will certainly be following Darren’s work – you can find him on Instagram at @darrenreesartist and visit his website at http://www.darrenrees.com.
Don’t forget you can also find me over on instagram at @theboveybirder
The Bovey Birder 