I won't lie, I am not what you'd call a lover of our avian brethren - in life that is. A well-draped boa or coy little fascinator holds no terror for me, but I've been pooped on one too many times to have much love for living breathing creatures that fly. That said, I positively adore them when featured in art, literature, and of course, dinner.
Artist
Charley Harper (1922 - 2007), a well-loved and acclaimed wildlife artist captured the fun and fantasy of these feathery imps (minus the early-morning twittering and shoulder garnish) and I had to share some of my favorite pieces.
About Charley Harper
(from the website)
Cincinnati wildlife artist Charley Harper passed away on Sunday, June 10, 2007.
Charley
was born Charles Burton Harper, in Frenchton, West Virginia on August
4, 1922. He graduated from, and taught art at, the Art Academy of
Cincinnati where he met wife, Edie, also an artist. The two married
in 1947 after graduating.
In the 1950′s Harper gained acclaim as a
commercial illustrator with “The Golden Book of Biology” and “Betty
Crocker’s Dinner for Two cookbook.” Over the ensuing two decades he
contributed to the Ford Motor Company’s magazine, Ford Times. The
response to this work was so positive, it led to his silkscreen print
business reproducing those images. Charley’s paintings have appeared in
nature-oriented magazines and on posters for many
conservation-minded organizations, among them the National Park
Service, Cincinnati Zoo, Cincinnati Nature Center, Hamilton County
(Ohio) Park District, the Michigan Audubon Society, and Hawk Mountain
Sanctuary in Pennsylvania. Besides “The Golden Book of Biology” he
has illustrated “The Animal Kingdom”, Birds & Words”; and
“Beguiled by the Wild; The Art of Charley Harper.”
Charley has
designed over 50 “bio” posters for non-profit conservation groups,
nature centers and zoos, United States national parks and monuments,
and international wildlife sanctuaries and biosphere preserves. One of
the first federally commissioned posters was the ecology of Glacier
Bay National Park in the 1960′s. He also designed interpretive
displays for Everglades National Park. He had produced more than 100
limited-edition silk-screen prints.
When once asked to describe
his art style, Harper replied, “When I look at a wildlife or nature
subject, I don’t see the feathers in the wings, I just count the
wings. I see exciting shapes, color combinations, patterns, textures,
fascinating behavior and endless possibilities for making
interesting pictures. I regard the picture as an ecosystem in which all
the elements are interrelated, interdependent, perfectly balanced,
without trimming or unutilized parts; and herein lies the lure of
painting; in a world of chaos, the picture is one small rectangle in
which the artist can create an ordered universe.”
Charles
Harper’s wildlife art is created without the fuss and feathers. Minimal
realism, he calls it, “I don’t try to put everything in, I try to
leave everything out”. he explains, adding impishly, “I never count the
feathers in the wings; I just count the wings.”
Charles asks the
people who enjoy his art to “remember that I didn’t start out to paint a
bird – the bird already existed. I started out to paint a picture of a
bird, a picture which didn’t exist before I came along, a picture
which gives me a chance to share with you my thoughts about the bird.
Once you accept this seemingly simplistic but really quite profound
premise, you will aprreciate the many varied approaches to the making
of pictures, all of which start where realism leaves off, but all of
which require an understanding of realism for their successful
execution.”
Frame House Gallery excerpt, 1977
