Top 10 Animal Artists
30 October, 2020
30 October, 2020
Here are our top 10 animal artists, selected for skill, character and variety across wildlife art and sculpture. For many artists, wildlife is a lifelong passion — and it shows in the detail, personality and energy of each piece. From Carol Gillan’s quirky portraits to Richard Symonds’ precision work, you won’t have to look far to find a favourite.
Giles Ward
Specialising in marine wildlife and crustaceans, Giles Ward’s work is unique and beautiful. Experimentation is at the heart of his painting. Working pre-dominantly in oils Giles’ canvases take on other-worldly textures with the addition of acrylics, inks, spray paint, varnishes and anything else he can lay his hands on, including crab shell. He is inspired by the natural world and examines the hidden corners of colour and texture found in nature’s close-up detail. Giles sources his marine subjects direct from the fishmonger with Brixham Fish Market providing an incredible source of inspiration. The artist is also a keen support of local communities and has donated artworks for charitable ends. Watch Giles Ward discussing his process and inspiration in this interview at Forest Gallery Studio.
Debbie Boon
Our second pick in our animal artists is Debbie Boon. Painting on canvas with heavy bodied acrylics, Debbie Boon applies layers of paint to create depth and vibrancy in her work. Her animal portraits are characterised by an energy and vivacity which reflects the joie de vivre she feels when faced with a subject that captures her imagination. As one of Forest’s most prolific animal artists she is available for commissions and her work is available as large scale artist proof limited editions
In the below video we see Debbie Boon at work in her studio producing her recognisable bold brush strokes and dramatic paintings.
Dominique Salm
Dominique creates remarkably naturalistic portraits of animal subjects depicted on clean white backgrounds. This not only creates a dramatic graphic image, but conveys her modern aesthetic. Each image has an almost snap-shot quality, showing her unique ability of capturing the personality of each animal and imparting humour, character and whimsy to many of her pieces. “I have always seen the human side in animals – the way they make you laugh or sympathise with them with an action or an expression. I paint mainly from my own photos but can sometimes spend hours watching the subject as it’s all about capturing that single moment.”
Constantly pushing her art, Dominique now uses the earth pigment from the environments in which her animal subjects reside having observed varying shades of red on elephants as they roll around in iron rich soils. Going from strength to strength, the artist has a number of accolades to her name including winning the animal artists award BBC Wildlife Artist of the Year and finalist in David Shepherd’s Animal Artist of the Year.
Ben Jeffery
An accomplished artist with a large celebrity portrait and superhero portfolio including the likes of Marilyn Monroe and Stan Lee, Ben’s talent extends into animal portraiture seamlessly. The artist works in an inspired fashion, often filling the canvas with unplanned brush strokes and colour. This fluidity in his method of working gives his animal artwork a fantastic vibrancy which many collectors seek. In particular is the artists liberal use of metal leaf in his paintings and with a warm earthy red underpainting, which combine to produce a striking result as seen below.
Marc Allante
Merging traditional Chinese inks with European painting techniques in a contemporary style reflects the fusion of Marc’s Chinese-French ancestry. This unique approach situates his artwork in the contemporary art scene and the artist has gained wide recognition for his work, with multiple awards and exclusive interviews with the likes of the Huffington Post for a touching content creation on his artistic developments from when he was a young boy to the artist he is now.