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The National Museum of Wildlife Art's Western Visions exhibition…August 15, 2023

Greetings,

I am pleased and honored to announce that my next exhibition will be the Western Visions exhibition at the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming on Saturday, September 9th and runs through Sunday, October 1st, 2023.

The Western Visions exhibition and sale is the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s largest and longest-running fundraiser and is one of the signature events of the Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival. Top contemporary wildlife artists from around the world will be congregating at the Museum in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The show features a wide selection of art for sale and the money raised from this fundraiser supports the Museum. The week’s events, offered at the Museum’s award-winning facility across from the National Elk Refuge, draw an international crowd to this critically-acclaimed gathering.

This year I will have an oil painting of a roseate spoonbill wading in a tidal lagoon on the Gulf of Mexico. entitled, Lovin’ Spoonful (Oil on Belgian linen archivally mounted on Baltic birch panel, 15 x 20 inches).

Lovin' Spoonful

Roseate spoonbills are wading birds of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae, who’s pink color, like the American flamingo, is due to the ingestion of carotenoid pigment in their diet. I studied this spoonbill wading through shallow water and then swinging its head side to side with its bill under the water feeling for prey. It would forage holding its body in a horizontal position just above the water with head hanging down. I find spoonbills fascinating to study with their beautiful coloration, interesting behavior, and an almost prehistoric appearance.  I am quite content spending days drawing and studying these wonderful birds in the cool ocean breezes, something I find far better than summer in the city.

The painting is based on one of my field study drawings, Right side study of a roseate spoonbill walking in water, drawn with the rare old master media of natural red chalk and natural white chalk.

Right side study of a roseate spoonbill walking in water

I really look forward to being in Jackson Hole for this exhibition as it also affords me the opportunity to do valuable field studies of the charismatic megafauna who live in the Greater Yellowstone Region during the week following these events.

More information can be found at the Museum’s website at: https://www.wildlifeartevents.org/

If you have any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you.

Best regards,

Timothy

 

The Woodson Art Museum's Internationally-acclaimed Birds in Art exhibition…August 7, 2023

Greetings,

Since 1976, the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum has organized Birds in Art annually, seeking to present the very best contemporary artistic interpretations of birds and related subject matter. Artwork for the annual exhibition is selected each spring, and information is shared when finalized as the exhibition is prepared for the fall opening.

Artwork from 111 artists from throughout the world is included in this 48th annual 2023 Birds in Art exhibition. Artwork from 111 artists selected from throughout the world is included in this 48th annual 2023 Birds in Art. The exhibition opens to the public on the first Saturday following Labor Day, running from September 9th to November 23, 2023.

Since its inception, thirty-five artists have been honored by the Museum and elevated to the status of Master Artist in tandem with Birds in Art. I am very honored to have been so recognized and elevated to the ranks of Master Artist in 2020. Those honored in previous years include Alan Woollett, Cindy House, Don Rambadt, Karen Bondarchuk, Barry Van Dusen, Terry Miller, James Coe, John Busby, and James Morgan.

My painting in this year’s exhibition is entitled, He who laughs last… (Oil on Belgium linen archivally-mounted on Baltic birch panel, 18 x 24 inches).

He who laughs last…

The well-known quote, He who laughs last, laughs best, inspired the title of this painting, which depicts two laughing gulls calling out on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. Laughing gulls were named for their strident, Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha, vocalizations and are primarily coastal birds.  I found their striking black heads and dark red bills and legs to be interesting design and compositional elements, contrasting with the sandy beach and water. Sadly, they are threatened by humans, dogs, and loss of habitat.

More information can be found on the Museum’s website at: https://www.lywam.org/birds-in-art/.

If you have any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you.

Best regards,

Timothy