Picking up this book, you will be instantly aware of three of the qualities that have helped establish Colin Woolf's name at the very top in British wildlife art circles, namely:
• His commitment to the highest production standards - as evidenced by the heavyweight cover, specially printed Japanese silk end papers, top quality art paper and exacting colour reproduction.
• A painstaking attention to detail - reported beautifully in wife Jo's text - to make sure every drawing and painting is 'just right'.
• An artistic ability to capture the emotion that many of us feel when confronted by awesome landscapes and exciting birds but which we lack the skill to reproduce ourselves.
Colin has always suggested that showing his work in Birds Illustrated magazine in the early 1990s gave him valuable national exposure and helped him realise his dream of making a fulltime living from his artistic output. In my view, this is a typically generous, but misplaced, belief. While giving up a fulltime job for the insecure life of a wildlife artist must have seemed a huge gamble, anyone who knows Colin's dogged determination and appetite for work will understand that his reputation and popularity are entirely the result of his own efforts and the support of his family.
With more than 260 images to savour, you can enjoy both the diversity of his subject matter and his willingness to explore new techniques. Colin has a very loyal following and many of his regular patrons will be overjoyed to add this celebration of his life's work to their collection. I'm equally sure the book will win him an army of new admirers.
David Cromack (Editor, Birds Illustrated magazine)
www.birdsillustrated.com
| | At the age of 21, Colin Woolf was about to embark on a career in scientific research, driven by a fascination for biology and anatomy. Although he had always been aware of his natural ability to paint and draw, the idea of becoming a professional artist had scarcely crossed his mind. Ten years later, having found the world of medical science too restrictive, he was contemplating this very prospect - a decision which necessitated a massive leap into the unknown.
Colin is now widely recognised as one of the UK's leading wildlife artists. He has exhibited widely throughout Britain and the Channel Islands, and his work is admired and collected by wildlife and nature lovers the world over. Working in pure watercolour, he has almost re-defined the use of this medium, mastering its full potential and stretching pre-conceived boundaries to create works that are both lifelike and breathtakingly beautiful.
Written and edited by Joanne Woolf, Colin's wife, this superbly illustrated book offers an insight into Colin's emergence as a successful wildlife artist, describing his early adventures in the natural world and the surprising choices that shaped his future. Containing over 250 full-colour reproductions, it explains the ideas and inspiration behind each image, and also reveals a few of the working practices that lie at the heart of Colin's ability with watercolour.
www.wildart.co.uk
|