Birdfair 2009

chris rose's stand

john bye's stand

michael warrens art

Several artist friends of mine had suggested that the birdfair in rutland,uk may be a good venue for showing my art,in particular my bird works.

so it was that i decided to pay a weekend visit to the show,taking my wife for company,to check out the art marquee that i had been told so much about.the show largely caters for die-hard birding enthusiasts so i did feel a little out of my depth as i have a good knowledge of birds but i'm not a bird anorak.the show brims with bird observation gadgetry that puts my pair of bins and digital camera to shame,i did pop into the telescope marquee as i have a hankering for one to help me with fieldwork,its very difficult to sketch using only binoculars.i found the ideal one for me but there were no discounts here and ive already found the same thing on the net for far less.whilst many of the telescopes are superb and i would dearly love one the cost of most leaves me recoiling in horror at the price,blimey these birders must be loaded,no wonder the artists report good sales here!.

The art marquee itself was an absolute pleasure to visit with most of the artists a very friendly bunch working together with great spirit,there were a couple of prima donnas but then there always are.

As the temperature reached 29c the atmosphere in the marquee did become a little oppressive but didnt dampen the spirits.there was some superb work on show and despite the gloomy economic conditions a good number of sales.some of my favourite wildlife artists were in attendance including michael warren with his stunning watercolours,the complexity of some i could only wonder at,chris rose with his wonderful images full of light and atmosphere and john bye whose acrylic works truly are photo realistic.

Looking back on the show i think i will try for a stand next year although there is a waiting list,but thats just an indication of the popularity of the show.