Contemporary Animal Artists (Part 2)

The artists that I have chosen to write about are mainly working in sculpture, some in clay, and some also in bronze. Their work is very accomplished, with the use of texture and decorating oxides quite prominent.

I think capturing the (wild ) spirit of the animal through a fairly 'immediate' process, is what most of these artists do, but this doesn't mean it is not considered. I think all artists who portray wild animals are trying to "draw attention to declining wildlife and the natural world", from Charlotte Pack's website.

Antony Theakston

Antony Theakston ( his wife is Nicola Theakston), studied Ceramics, and graduated from Bristol, then with an MA from Carlisle.

The shapes are very smooth and tactile, with not much added colour. They are very clean ceramics with straight lines. He uses shadows, the form is simple and the beauty is in it's simplicity.

He does a lot of birds eg owls, puffins. After doing a design on paper, he traces and transfers the drawing onto a solid block of plaster and begins carving with chisels, saws until he is happy he can take a mould from the piece to cast a ceramic edition, and also cast an edition in bronze. His large bronze sculptures have a lot of presence.

He will be at Ceramic Art London, his ceramic archive shows a lot of birds....have these been slipcast? I can ask him at CAL.

This beautiful blue bird is eye-catching and stunning!

Jack Durling

He has another way of summarising his ceramics:

"Hand-built ceramic sculpture inspired by the phenomena of the natural world."

Are his ceramics spiritual? I think so.

He has spent time in the untamed landscapes both of Dungeness and near his home in the South Downs. He is inspired by this to make what is on his doorstep and by endangered wildlife across the world.

He has worked with the community to create a Shared Memories Mural in Maidstone's Note Park ( installed 2023 ). He is dedicated to animal welfare and has donated to animal protection and wildlife charities. (I also think animal rescue is very relevant these days, and animal protection often includes this, just as important I think, to help those in trouble.)

Jack often adds gold lustre to make a statement (usually a subtle conservation/cruelty statement, of the part of the animal affected by man's actions). His work sits well in a collection. He seems to have ample talent and scope to make a lot of different animals, yet they are still a collection and recognisably his.

This is a recent piece by Jack Durling, now exhibited at the National Glass Centre, Gateshead.

Texture is very important in his work , and the colour is usually muted or realistic. I find his work is very powerful.

He occasionally adds some colour eg pink nose of a sloth bear, and this tiger. I like the understated colour too. His work is really beautiful and meaningful. And it is always mounted well.

Amongst his other installations are:

2019 British Wildlife Sensory Tile Mural, Blind Veterans UK.

His work is also in the Jetty Gallery, Oban, I noticed, where I have exhibited too.

Elaine Peto

There are a lot of sculptural animal artists - maybe this is something I will try in the future.

I do think it is easier to portray animals realistically in sculpture. In 2D ceramics, for example sgraffito they become more folky ( stylised).

I love this Cockatoo, simple splash of colour, with very fluid torn pieces and unusual pose

This stag and staghound is very powerful. The figure is half human - female. The dog is man's best friend, but hunts the stag - the dog doesn't hold anything against the stag, it is man who does and kills for pleasure.

Like the Cockatoo this resembles the rawness of Emily Nichols. I admire this way of working.

Again man has a conflict with a free animal in bull fighting.

These are slab builds, with a series of slabs added. This is how Rob and Susan Halls build up their sculptures.

Elaine wishes to develop into other animals eg African animals. Mythology has inspired some of Elaine's work, this has a connection with the folk element of sgraffito. Also the deer and hound and the bull are creatures mentioned in mythology.

With sculptures I think it is more easy to add texture eg for hair, scales etc. In '2 D' ceramics is this replaced by pattern?

Paul and Jill Seizler

They live in Ullapool in Scotland and are concerned with the wildlife that live in their part of the world.

Paul sculpts animals in clay and his wife, Jill, paints animal studies in gouache, acrylic, watercolour and pastel. I like using watercolour pencils and pastels for sketches and drawings.

Paul says he is trying to do "justice to the wild spirit of the animal". He likes clay because it allows him to work rapidly and energetically. I think this is what I would have liked in my 2D ceramics, maybe more abstract, however I am now working with sgraffito a lot, which is almost the opposite! This freedom is another reason I like sculpture.

There seem to be some parallels in the choices of animal (sculptors) and artists:

live in the country

use sculpture as a process

have a matt finish a lot of the time

limited colour (or close to the natural colour of the animal) exception Charlotte Pack.

Some are miniatures, some not.

Simon Griffiths

He lives and works in the North Pennines, County Durham. He spent a lot of time in nature and woods as a child. He tries to portray the animals and birds "as honestly as I can". He doesn't strive to make the work realistic but to capture the " sense of awareness that is present in all living things".

He is a member of the RSPB and the WWT (Wildlife and Wetlands Trust). Each year he auctions a sculpture and donates the proceeds to a conservation charity. This is mirrored by other artists to charities of their choice, one being to bring ceramics to young people.

I am a member of various animal charities, whose newsletters inform my work.

I like the way that you can see the (red) clay underneath on some of his work. He is more rustic than some of the other sculptors I have looked at. His Puffins, however, are neatly painted and the Blackbirds are particularly engaging. I think he does totally acheive his brief of capturing a sense of awareness. His work is mounted on nice pieces of wood.

The robin is not completely lifelike ( rustic ) but totally there in spirit.

He will be at Ceramic Art Wales and Potfest in the Park, so I look forward to meeting him and seeing his work.

Gillie and Marc Art

I first noticed their art with the large public bronze sculpture installations, of animals sitting round a bench with each other, quite large and with places for us to sit. There is one in London, which I would like to see, maybe at CAL.

"Wild Couch Party " sculpture is in New York. It contains the worlds most endangered species sitting on a couch with room for you. This is a moment to connect with wildlife needing our protection.

Their mission is to spark a "sense of wonder and responsibility in the city. We wish to enlighten and inspire everyone we can." This is at 28 Liberty Street, Fosun Pliaza which is 5 minutes walk from the World Trade Centre.

The species are all sitting down together. The sum of all the individual species is less than the value of all together. A fact governing our ecosystem on planet earth. The sculpture (installation) is large enough to be seen from a distance.

With the installation in London, the animals are all sharing a table - the common theme of food , necessary to live. Also the way we produce our food (ethics, habitat loss) is a big topic going forward....how we factory farm ( welfare issues) and vegetarian/veganism. Sustainable farming.

Ardmore Ceramics and Design

I saw them on social media, where they had taken 6 weeks to make a bowl of frolicking impalas and leopards, which were sculpture (sprig?) additions on the bowl. A variation on functional.

Finally a photographer:

Vincent Lagrange

I saw his work in a newsletter from the Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, which I have visited on a few occasions. There are striking animal portraits which capture "Humanlike" poses, full of personality. I think each species ( and breed?) has its own personality ie way of thinking, mental shortcomings ( as they would be viewed in the human world) and superior intelligence of things we don't have, eg scent, smell, taste.

He has a book - "Between Us: Animal Portraits" by Vincent Lagrange.

His finished portraits are a dignified look at the Animal Kingdom - I think this is a lot of what I want to acheive.

He has taken photos of animals against backdrops a bit like a portrait. I have been adding 'natural environment ' features to my work. I am trying to think of new ways of portraying background, with the use of stencils and bright colours and patterns sourced from fabrics.

In his portraits the animals look good - I do think they rise to the occassion and engage with you (at the zoo) when they realise that you are drawing them.

Vincent says "I try to photograph the animals as humans, depicting their emotion and human-like characteristics in a sombre way". I think the word "sombre" says it all.. He uses lots of dark backgrounds with animals just visible.

I like working immediately, but with sgraffito my work is becoming a bit more considered. Although I would like to try sculpture as a way of getting my message across and convey the spirituality of the animal, my work is leaning towards Campain Art, with the use of a few words to help convey a message or issue surrounding man's impact on biodiversity and conservation of habitat and species. In sgraffito the use of patterns is part of the querkiness in '2D' ceramics and introduces a 'folk' element.

Sculpture for me is for another time - it is such a big subject, I would not like to rush and do it badly.

So my work tries to convey the spirituality of the animal, through the aesthetics of colour, design ( multiple use of the same imagery ( originally from brush and ink canvas by myself). I have started making more vessel shapes other than just platters, namely a series of cylinders. With these, using a story surrounding a conservation issue involving the animals I am looking at, is told on a tall cylinder. This has generated quite a bit of interest from collegues and friends. The height of the cylinder seems to produce a good canvass and adds an aesthetic dimension in itself.

I have been looking at Campain Art as well as Collage. I like the way you can shrink or enlarge an image to use in different ways. I think you need to be aware of current issues to get the wording right ( I'm not suggesting that I always manage this ), but I do receive emails and updates from WWF, Greenpeace, International Animal Rescue and Animals Asia, among others.

The wording should be simple ( unless you are depicting a ballad or poem, eg Seatree Argyll Pottery, which is quite folky and there is an equal emphasis on the words, as on the pots).

I have just started using decals to see how this informs my work. I enjoyed the process of applying them, and was it was surprisingly easy! I am using decals for the words because is neater and could be thought of as more professional. It gives the impression of printed matter, which among other things, could be described as the seat of all knowledge, in books. However I have not totally dismissed other form of lettering or handwriting just yet, but I am liking the initally look of the decals I put on this week. I wait for the results of the final firing...