Untamed Artists Network
The artists who are involved in the Untamed Artist Network are passionate about wildlife conservation. When you support us you can be assured that your investment is going toward the betterment of wildlife around the globe.
Please take the time to enjoy each artist's work. Links have been included to allow you to visit their individual sites for more information on their work and events.
Leigh is the founder of the Untamed Artists Network. His highly detailed pastels are sought after by many collectors worldwide and many of his peers have commended him for the way he is so forthcoming in sharing his working methods, featuring on forums such as wetcanvas and youtube. He is a member of the Australian Guild of Realist Artists along with Landscape Artists International and works closely with the Melbourne Zoo on fundraising projects.
Leigh was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1977 and throughout his early years was surrounded by exotic animals through his family ties to the Melbourne Zoo and Perry Bros Circus. Art was always a part of his life and he made it known everywhere he could, sending posters in to Saturday morning cartoon shows and designing toys during his primary school years. Upon entering high school he had moved on to the realm of comic books, a place he would dwell for many years. Throughout his time at school Leigh was a regular award winner for his art, something that carried on afterwards in his careers as a comic artist and a signwriter.
In 2001 Leigh took his first steps in fine art and found himself drawn to his childhood inspirations. Working in pastel he found he was able to create highly detailed works which he found a market for quite quickly. In late 2006 Leigh held his first solo exhibition, selling a large amount of his wildlife work and finished the year with commissions. Early 2007 has seen Leigh win a major award for his oils, expand his teaching commitments to online art classes and demonstrating regularly at various art shows.
"Bathtime -Asian Elephant" "Regal Pride"
Oil on Canvas by Leigh Rust Pastel on Colourfix by Leigh Rust
Patrick moved with his family to England in 1974 after his father died, having received hornet stings on a camping trip they were on, and although he still loves England, it was never home. He never wanted to leave Africa but had no choice. By the age of 26 he was restless and spent the next three years wandering the globe, working a bit here and a bit there, and visiting about 50 countries along the way. The sketch book started to come out during this period.
Patrick now resides in Adelaide, South Australia with his wife and children.
In 2007 Patrick's work has garnered the respect of his peers far and wide as he continues to develop his dynamic wildlife art. Patrick recently had a very successful showing at the Urban Art Show in Adelaide, South Australia.
"The Boss"
Pastel on Colourfix by Patrick Hedges
"Dust and Thunder" "Please, one more"
Pastel on Colourfix by Patrick Hedges Pastel on Colourfix by Patrick Hedges
Click here for more work by
From the traditional to the wacky and weird, Tom has fun trying out new approaches and techniques using different media. With his wildlife work he aims for a photo realistic style with light, drama and a sense of space being key components for him.
His cartoon themes have varied according to client needs and he has always had great fun conceptualizing and producing them.
Tom recently discovered the joys of digital painting in the fantasy genre and since moving to Australia in 2006 started working in soft pastels, a medium that he thoroughly enjoys. They are particularly effective for his beloved wildlife compositions.
A BRIEF HISTORY
Tom majored in art at the Teacher's Training College in Bulawayo, Rhodesia (Now Zimbabwe) and once he began his teaching career he was soon designing ad drawing cartoon covers and posters for various school activities.
Once the opportunity arose he took over and ran the Art department at Highbury School, KZN, South Africa for 15 years. During this time he designed and produced, amongst other art, over 700 T shirts for fun run events, full sized and miniature watercolours, and giant back drop murals for annual school productions.
While at Highbury he was commissioned by the Natal Parks Board in Southy africa to produce a set of images for the 100 years centenary of the Hluhluwe, St Lucia and Umfolozi Resorts. Some 2000 sets were printed...
Two of Tom's oil paintings of the school currently hang in the reception area and prints were reproduced in the Highbury School Centenary Book.
He briefly exhibited in the Henry Taylor Gallery in Johannesburg, South Africa.
In 2004 he was commissioned by Dionysus, a corporate outcomes based adult education provider to design and produce theme related cartoons for their training materials.
In 2005 he discovered digital painting and was totally enamoured with the creative freedom that this new method allowed him. He entered some of his earlier efforts for various Ballistic Publishing book competitions.
2006 saw Tom move to Australia where is is now following his passion and working full time as an artist. His work is shown at the Saints Gallery, San Souci, Sydney.
"Dreamtime"
Pastel by Tom Godfrey
"Kiama Pelican" "Snowy - Feeling blue"
Click here for more work by Tom Godfrey
Wendy Prior is an artist based on New Zealand's east coast. While she enjoys painting many different subjects, her favourite will always be animals and wildlife. Her preferred medium is coloured pencil and she has many followers of her incredibly realistic portrayals of the animal kingdom.
Wendy is passionate about her art and equally as passionate about animals and conservation. She has recently included some video demonstrations on her blog which are well worth watching.
Also worth noting is Wendy's amazing artwork which she produced for a New Zealand documentary on the famed Canterbury Black Cat. Check it out on her website
Both works are Coloured pencil on drafting film by Wendy Prior
Gary D. Rankin, a.k.a. “GD”, was born and raised in south Texas
where much of the land is still wild and the people are always
friendly. Gary comes from a long line of avid outdoorsmen and was
taught early in life to study, respect and honor all things in nature.
Learning to ride before he could walk gave him a special admiration for
horses, so it’s no surprise that his first acrylic paintings were of
wild mustangs. He began drawing and sketching at a very young age.
Since various small orphaned wild animals were raised by the family,
they naturally became companions and favorite subjects.
Gary's
artistic experience from childhood to present includes painting with
acrylics, enamels and watercolors. He has also enjoyed working with
other mediums such as charcoal, clay, leather and pastels to name a
few. Applying his skills to all areas of art and experimenting with
different ideas helps keep thing fresh and exciting, he says.
Having
over twenty years in the vast commercial art industry, in 1996 Gary
started working with watercolors and began his venture into the “Fine
Arts”. As reflected in his paintings, he gets a lot of his inspiration
from wildlife and nature. He says his “country boy” upbringing and his
commercial art backgrounds (from business cards to billboards) have
both contributed to his abilities and the styles he enjoys painting.
“I
believe that “Giving Back” (to the community) is very important and a
large part of why I wanted to join the Untamed Artists Network. I have
donated paintings to wildlife rescue sanctuaries and hope to continue
to assist their efforts through fund raisers via my work and love of
the arts.”
Gary is offering prints of his latest painting, King Of Taronga, on his site (www.GaryRankin.com) where all the proceeds are going towards wildlife sanctuaries.
Watercolour by Gary Rankin Watercolour by Gary Rankin
Martin was born in England in the summer of 1982. At the time his parents, both zoologists, were temporarily living in Nairobi, Kenya having recently come from working with Orangutans in Indonesia and ready to take on a new project in southern Sudan. However after his father, Conrad, was kidnapped by Sudanese rebels and held hostage for a week plans changed and they moved on to Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) to manage the mountain gorilla project in the Virunga National Park on the border of Rwanda and Zaire.
It was here that Martin started drawing at a very early age. Surrounded by stunning landscapes and a wealth of interesting fauna and flora he soon developed a passion for the natural world, in particular wildlife. This is a theme that has remained a constant throughout his life.
At the age of 7 Martin's parents separated and he moved to Nairobi with his mother and 2 brothers. Here he attended school until the age of 16, receiving awards for his art at every rung on the educational ladder. He then moved to the UK to study for the IB (International Baccalaureate) at Sevenoaks School in Kent. It was her that he studied under sculptor Oliver Barratt, and upon graduation was awarded the school's top prize for IB art.
After finishing at Sevenoaks Martin took a year to travel around the world with freinds. During this time he spent 3 months doing volunteer work with Watamu Turtle Watch along the Kenyan coast. For the second part of the year he worked toward his first art exhibition, "Metamorphosis" which was held in The Pool Room in Nairobi. The event was a great success and he has had three subsequent solo exhibitions: "Visualise" at the Karen Country Club, Nairobi (2002), "Transitions" at the Talisman, Nairobi (2004), and "Out of Africa" athe the CB2 Bistro in Cambridge (2006)
Martin attended university in the UK, graduating from the University of Bristol in 2004 with a degree in Geography. He continues to draw and paint today, largely through his favoured pastel pencils, and hopes to carry on communicating wildlife through this medium.
Martin is responsible for the Alive and Kicking project in Northern Mozambique (See member news and events for more details)
"Forest Breeze" "Hunting dog"
Pastel by Martin Aveling Pastel by Martin Aveling
I was born and raised
in Melbourne, Australia and have lived and worked overseas, most
recently working as a wildlife volunteer in South Africa. There have
been some very interesting experiences along the way, some that will
stay with me for life.
I have had a life-long passion for animals and have always lived with them – cats, horses, dogs and the occasional bird, lizard, fish and frog. My parents always encouraged a love of animals and for study and learning, and my mother has always been creative and I loved to look at her drawings. Now this passion translates into a desire to conserve our beautiful Earth and her precious wildlife and I try to express this through my art in oils and pastel using light, atmosphere and drama. Not only do I enjoy doing this, I hope others may see and appreciate what richness of life we have when they view wildlife art and desire to conserve it, too. Art is one way of many to communicate these things.
Although I have painted many subjects it is the animal kingdom that is my greatest love and the subject I now concentrate on. I travel regularly to experience, paint and photograph my subjects with East Africa as my favourite destination. The Untamed Artist Network is a great way to use art for conservation, both to raise money and heighten awareness.
I paint in a detailed, realist style with some forays into impressionism.
I have studied with Regina Hona, Stephen Powell and Carmel Mahoney.
Member of the Australian Guild of Realist Artists and the Pastel Society of Victoria.
Oil by Alison Clark Oil by Alison Clark
Chris McClelland is famous for his unique, fine and intricate pencils drawings of African and Australian wildlife, which is quite a contrast to his previous career. He spent the last 30 years managing large Australian sheep and cattle stations, one which ran 40,000 sheep. Through his work he developed a strong understanding of animal behaviour from observing Australian native animals on the station.
His natural talent for drawing was recognized early, and he drew horses for a hobby.
But he grew up with a fascination for Africa, inherited from his parents, and on his first trip there in 1994, with wife Margie, a respected photographer, he fell in love with the continent. He began writing reviews and drawing wildlife and lodges for The African Safari Magazine.
Africa stimulated his sense of sight, smell and sound and he "found its heartbeat deafening".
No other place on earth has the variety and numbers of such visible wildlife, and McClelland has since made nine trips to Africa, witnessing the powerful and unstoppable force of nature.He believes he has managed to gather Africa's spirit and soul to fuel his desire to draw and paint the people, places and wildlife of the country with all of its harshness, savagery and beauty.
He has spent hours studying his subjects in their natural habitat, observing their movements and noting the interactions between predator and prey. He uses sketches, photographs, video footage and his own well-honed powers of observation as reference to accurately portray the behaviour and anatomy of his animal. He draws them with such fine detail that each of his drawings can take up to 300 hours.
Coming from the land and pioneering stock himself, he believes that the spirit of the Australian bush and the African bushveld is a part of him, and he finds it easy to become one with it.
His living drawings are greatly sought after by discerning collectors
"Who are you?" "A sense of urgency"
Graphite by Chris McClelland Coloured pencil by Chris McClelland
Scott was born on the east coast of Virginia in 1966. Scott's love for art and animals were apparent from a very early age. Most of his free time as a child was spent drawing the animals that he loves and dreaming that one day his art would be as good as the art he loved in his art books. Although he grew up in a beach atmosphere, his favorite animals were the big cat's and wolves. Although Scott has a place in his heart for all animals, the big cats and wolves remain his favorite subjects to portray.
Up until the early nineties, Scott was a self taught artist. When he enrolled in art school in 1993, he began to see a totally new art world open up to him. "The art classes I took in those years really taught me a lot, it gave me an entirely new handle on things...it taught me the discipline I had been lacking". Scott won numerous awards while at the school and this revamped the confidence in his ability, which in turn helped launch his art career. "The very first art job was working as a mural artist for a sign company"." Not only did it teach me about the wonderful world of deadlines, I was also taught how to airbrush by one of the greatest airbrush artist in the country". After this, Scott went on to work as an illustrator. "This job most closely resembles the type of art that I love to do". Scott, to this day is still working in the illustration field" "Although, I work as an illustrator to pay the mortgage, fine art and animals are and always will be my first love". "I dedicate as much time as possible to my fine art so that I never lose touch with the reason I started drawing in the first place".
Scott lives with his wife and two children on the east coast of Virginia.
Both works are coloured pencil by Scott Tillett
Since 2005 Holley has begun painting more on a regular basis. She has moved from painting portraits of people to also painting portraits of animals, flowers and the occassional faery. Her favourite subject is animals, particularly cats of all genders. Majority of her work is composed with Pastel Pencils.
Holley has taken out Awards and Certificates in the few exhibitions she has entered. Her continued dedication to her passion has seen her evolve into a fine artist over the last couple of years.
Pastel pencils by Holley Ryan Pastel by Holley Ryan
Brian was born in the 1970's near Chicago, illinois. His love of the arts came at a young age and he spent his youth playing in bands, helping friends with art films and absorbing all he could of the Chicago art and club scenes. He moved to Tampa, Florida in 2000 and became a live animal caretaker at Big Cat Rescue, home to over 150 exotic felines ( former pets, circus tigers, fur farm refugees, etc.)
Brian then started taking photos (mostly black and white) of the cats there, as well as on his trips to the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya, Africa. It was there that his love of conservation grew stronger, causing him to create a website that he could use to sell prints of his work to promote some great conservation efforts.
Brian has worked in the animal field now for more than 6 years and has many projects helping out several animal causes. His philosophy of taking pictures is simply not to disturb the wildlife and just record a piece of their lives through a picture.
Feel free to contact him for all your photo needs. He also has a large library of animal and other photos too numerous to display on his site.
Prints come signed & with a description of the animal in the photo. Other sizes are available please contact : briczar@juno.com for more info.
"Snow Leopard" "Untitled"
Photographic prints by Brian Czarnik
Kathie Miller has been an artist all her life. Even though she has a fine art degree, she feels she is totally self taught.
"I spent many years getting my degree, but found that everything I wanted to learn I had to teach myself."
She has worked in many different mediums over the years from pottery and sculpture, photography, carving life-size songbird. From jewelry to textile art, airbrushing and colored pencils.
"The airbrush has really been my greatest enjoyment. It has allowed me to paint in a way that other paints and pencils could never let me do. But lately I’ve been going back to the colored pencils. They give me the greatest control."
Her specialty for many years has been the big cats.
“I love the
tigers and jaguars. Since I became a falconer, I’ve worked at
painting the birds of prey. I had a hard time at first; switching
from fur to feathers is not that easy. Now, I really enjoy doing
them.”
Kathie's main focus is
wildlife and is reflected in all her artwork. Over the years, she has
won many awards for her art pieces.
"Prarie Falcon"
Coloured pencil by Kathie Miller
"As
an artist, my work has been displayed worldwide with international showings
in Canada Place (Canada), Japan, Australia, England, and the John F. Kennedy
Center for the Performing Arts, two major showings, private displays to
international personalities, Vancouver Art Gallery (B.C. Canada) and at
the B.C. Festival of the Arts."
"I have been nominated for the Order of British Columbia, Honorary Doctor
of the Arts, Instructor, Newspaper columnist, Ambassador to the Arts of
the Handicapped, Federal and Provincial Representative to the Arts, Very
Special Arts Contributor, and Telethons. I have also utilized my arts in
the Motion Picture Industry for the past several years and have been on
Television and in Newspaper interviews."
Moving
from the city of Vancouver to the Interior of British Columbia 24 years
ago, was a natural inclination of a Wildlife Artist, with no regrets. Living
in the interior of British Columbia is a wildlife artists dream.
This fortunate move to such wonderful surroundings has been a great adventure
indeed! The senses are, at times, overwhelmed by the demanding imageries
- shadow, depth, color, warmth, smells and sounds. No matter where you look,
the ever changing moods are stirred, bringing forth the "More then you can
handle" impressions of life around us.
By no means has the earlier process of my work as a portrait artist come to an end, far from it! The raising of my four children has offered me an endless variety of child life paintings in a land of a thousand and more lakes and in the adventures in the life of a child.
Although
I do paint in oils, most of my work is in acrylics. Portrait painting comes
naturally, easily...Wildlife was a challenge that I have now come to accomplish
with great joy and satisfaction and hopefully, a pleasure for all.
My studio consists of all an Artists needs. Paints, brushes, knives, canvases,
acid free paper and illustration board and easel… but I do prefer to paint
on a tilting table or drafting board. A library of wildlife books, portrait
books and natural history books fill my shelves.
I'm very fond of the "OLD MASTERS" work and of the fine art of "High Realism
Painting" whether that be portraits, wildlife or landscapes. I like to put
a bit of abstraction into my work in order to make the viewer feel a sense
of change and not so hum drum. I try to make the painting "Come Alive."
This work is a collage of many years of experience and has been seen the
world over. It's truly an adventure in the art of high realism.
"In this world of so much disorder and turmoil, I hope to bring to you a
lasting sense of warmth, security and natural order. Something for you ...something
to last for generations to come."
"Mountain Gorilla"
Acrylic by Daniel Taylor
Debra Jones is a portrait painter from the Southwest United States. Her art has been shown from coast to coast in such organizations as the National Watercolor Society(US) and the Pastel Society of America. Her human and pet portraits are always in high demand. The French Brittany Gundog Association of America has designated her their official artist.
Her work in wildlife causes sprang form the annual Arizona Artist's Guild show at the Phoenix Zoo. Their breeding and conservation programs feature a number of extinct and highly endangered species. Keeping true to their goals her work features portraits of these species. They are portraits for the sake of saving not only a species but one life at a time.
"Sumatra" "Lion sketch"
Pastel by Debra Jones Watercolour by Debra Jones
I have been painting and drawing since I was in my teens. Nature and animals have always had an appeal for me, starting with horses and growing to include more and more animal and plant species as my awareness increased.
It is somewhat unusual to find a nature artist who is not also interested in conservation. As artists we are in the unique position of being able to present the familiar in a new way. If successful this can bring attention to aspects of life that have a tendency to be overlooked or taken for granted. The challenge of revealing the "art" in Earth is one I enjoy and hope to use in service of the Earth's natural wonders. Now more than ever they are in need of our attention.
I am a largely self taught painter and use acrylics for their versatility. The fast drying times appeal to my impatient nature and allow me to build my images in transparent layers. I try to paint every day. This is as good for my health as it is for my growth as an artist.
"Between Worlds" "Kunik"
Both works are acrylic on masonite by Judy Cooper
Leslie Evans, also known as ‘Chisaii’ (Chee-sigh) is a self taught artist who remembers having some type of artistic implement in her hand since her toddler days.
Realism has always been a fascination for Leslie whether in a family portrait, the animal kingdom or depiction of nature. Colored pencil is the medium of choice and whether combined with pastels, charcoal or graphite, Leslie enjoys the many nuances of creating close-up life-like animal portraits so much so that you think they’re standing in front of you.
Since 2002 Leslie has been able to seriously pursue her art again and is finding her way to working more and more with animal portraits, especially the magnificent great apes, magnificent big cats and birds of any variety. She holds several awards and honors from exhibitions is currently a member in the National CPSA organization and Dallas/Ft. Worth Chapter of CPSA.
“If my work creates an emotional impact then I’ve truly accomplished more than just a piece of art.”
"Jaguar" and "Sentinel"
Coloured pencil by Leslie Evans
That guy taking pictures while perched on an out cropping at the Washington Park Zoo, the one with a special interest in big cats, just might be Berle bledsoe. Bledsoe is a self taught artist and has been painting for more than 10 years. His first efforts were done many years ago but marraige, raising a family and his work as a warehouseman for Unisource intervened. When he retired his wife encouraged him to start again. He now devotes many hours to his rapidly expanding career.
Berle prefers working from photographs and is an expert at imposing imagination and impression on reality. His first love is doing portraits of people and animals. Berle has the unique ability to see beyond the superficial and reveal the inner beauty of his subject, a talent he brings both to his portraits and his wildlife works. Many of his work depicting wild animals are a result of his frequent trips to the Oregon Zoo.
Berle is a regular at the Lake Area Artists Show and the Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts. His work has been shown at Art Splash in Tualatin, and at shows sponsored by the Spectrum of the Arts. He measures his success by whether a person identifies with his subject and has a good feeling about it. That connection between the viewer and the art is something he always strives for.
"Water baby" "It's your move"
By Berle Bledsoe
Born and raised in the Shenandoah Valley, I seemed to have an over abundance of love for horses and all animals as far back as I can remember. I have always tried drawing them and remember using the brown paper bags that mom brought our groceries in for drawing paper. I amazed my teachers in early school with my drawings of animals and was always involved in painting the information boards in the hallways at school.
Wishing I had now, I
never took any art classes that were offered because all of the pictures I saw
that they painted were vases of flowers and houses and I wanted only to draw
animals. I did not realize how much information that even drawing that vase of
flowers could have taught me then. Now, I rely on my own eyes and talent to
try to capture what I see. I have had a horse most of my life and they are my
strongest passion. Growing up we always had a dog and a cat or two. I even had
pet ducks and chickens that I won at the local carnivals tossing pennies into
glasses when I was a child.I drove my parents crazy over animals, great or
small. And we lived in the city! I had a pony in the back yard and a
yard full of little ducks and chickens.
When I married and moved to the
mountains on a couple acres of land, I had just about one of every kind of farm
animal there was. I even had a pet crow and I became the local drop off
point for abandoned and injured wildlife and wild babies to nurse back into the
world.I have always been fascinated by the big cats. I love them all, and I love
to draw them and until recently I never picked up anything but a lead pencil to
draw them with. I was afraid of color because I didn't know how to use it. But
now I know the color isn't really in my hand, it is in the animal itself. I just
draw (paint) what I see. I can and have done portraits of people but they are
lacking in the variety of colors that are more easily done in an animal. Only
now have I decided that maybe I would like to share my ability in creating
lasting pictures of loved animals and people capturing them so that they
can be cherished and viewed anytime forever .
I know how important the memories and moments are to us all. Our animals are a part of us and I believe we need them as much as they need us. The importance of having the ability to portray their personality and put it in a picture for you to enjoy is most important to me. As important to me as your love is for them.
"Cougar" "Snow Leopard"
Pastel by Gloria Hager Pastel by Gloria Hager
Gordon Tully
My name is Gordon Tully, age 51, and I live in Coventry, England. I am a chiropodist by trade and have been now for 3 years. I started painting after watching Bob Ross on cable tv but never got any satisfaction from painting scenery.
Having been interested in scenery I wanted to paint it. I met Stan Kaminski, a professional artist who lives nearby. He was kind enough to show me the rudiments of painting animals and I have never looked back.
"Lone wolf" and "Leopard"
By Gordon Tully
"From Africa, where a supreme paradox of nature reigns, the clamouring harsh wildnesses contrast vividly with the serene peace of vast spaces; from which an artist may find glorious opportunities of self-expression." Monty Brown
Having lived and travelled through different countries in Africa, Angela opens a door to the continent for us with her art. Her paintings guide us on an amazing safari across desert, jungle and savannah where her passion for people, landscape and wildlife is expressed in her work
Angela comes from Austria and after living in Sweden, Germany, CAR, East Africa and Myanmar (Burma) she now resides in Scotland. After a commercial education she attended art-schools and works in Oil, Pastel, Watercolour, Pencil and Charcoal. First-hand experiences of deep jungle, vast grasslands, open plains and bush savannah inspired her to extend her colour palette in an expressionistic style. The barren regions of the Sahara, Kalahari and Namib deserts, in contrast to the lush green areas of the Okavango Delta and the serene game filled plains of the Serengeti assisted to produce her portfolio.
To underline her commitment to conservation, some of the proceeds of Angela’s paintings have been donated to the Rhino Ark organization and further proceeds are pledged to the Born Free Foundation, Ecoterra Intl. and Rhino Ark. Angela is also a member of the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy, WWF’s Panda Passport and a Signature Member of Artists for Conservation, formerly the Worldwide Nature Artists Group
"First rays" "Grumeti Lion"
Pastel by Angela Drysdale Pastel by Angela Drysdale
Lisa Meaney
Noel Clayton
All works copyright the artists. Unauthorized use of these images is prohibited.
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| The Hunter |
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| African elephant |