Australian Artists: Richard Weatherley

Inspired by this beautiful book which I found at the library (and which is now sadly out of print, or else I'd probably buy myself a copy), I'm going to start a series of posts on my blog over the next few weeks. The artists I'll be featuring are: Australians, active during the 20th-21st centuries, and most of them will be artists who paint in a representational, or realist, manner.

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Featured artist for this week: Richard Weatherly. Click here for his official website, or here for Wikipedia.

Forest Flight - Click here to view full-size reproduction

In the book I borrowed, there was another similar painting to this - like this one, it featured three Crimson Rosellas, but it was done from a different perspective - the canopy of the trees, rather than the ground. It had the most wonderful sense of flight and movement. Unfortunately, I couldn't find it anywhere on the internet - but nevermind, this painting is also very beautiful in its own way.

Spirit of Howqua - Click here to view full-size 

The awe-inspiring Wedge-tailed Eagle, Australia's largest bird of prey. I have a great love of Australian birds - when we went for long trips in the car, I used to take my "Field Guide to Australian Birds" and a notepad with me, and I'd make a list of all the different species I saw during the drive. I still do it sometimes! So, it's understandable that the paintings of Weatherly, a very talented bird artist, should hold a particular appeal for me!

 


Edge of the dunes - Click here to view full-size 

Unfortunately, the colours in this reproduction are very dull, and probably don't do the original work any justice. The Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo! They're large birds, and they have a very distinctive call - click here to listen!

Dance of the Water Fairy - Click here to view full-size

What an exquisite picture. I'm not 100% sure which bird it is. I think it's some kind of storm-petrel. My dad or grandfather will probably know exactly what it is. . .