Paintings, illustrations and prints of birds and other wildlife. Commissions taken for pet portraits.

 Andrew Mackay Wildlife Art & Pet Portraits wildlife art, pet portraits, bwp plates, concise bwp, bird art, cat portrait, bird illustration, wildlife illustration, wildlife painting, bird painting, nature art
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About the Artist
Andrew Mackay - wildlife artist  

I was born in Bristol, UK, in 1965, but now live in Leicestershire, in the English Midlands. I was interested in wildlife, especially birds, from a very early age, and began drawing them in my early teens. Since 1988 I have been a freelance wildlife artist and illustrator. I originally specialised in birds, but have recently started drawing insects, especially moths and butterflies, and have also added pet portraits to my repertoire. After several years of painting for exhibitions and private commissions, my first illustrating 'break' came in 1995, when I was commissioned by Oxford University Press to provide 29 plates for the Birds of the Western Palearctic Concise Edition. Since then, I have illustrated many other books, including the RSPB Birds of Britain and Europe series by Rob Hume (Dorling Kindersley); Pelicans, Cormorants and their Relatives by Bryan Nelson (OUP), A Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia by Craig Rob-
son (New Holland), Pocket Nature – Wild Animals (Dorling Kindersley) and Pocket Nature – Butterflies and Moths (Dorling Kindersley). I also wrote the moths section of the latter book, and contributed several photographs. My latest book is Watching British Dragonflies by Steve and Caroline Dudley, which was published in August 2007; a sister publication, Watching British Butterflies, is scheduled for publication in 2008.

I’m always looking out for ideas for pictures – usually it’s a combination of bird and landscape, whether that landscape extends all the way to the horizon, or just the bird’s immediate surroundings. Composition is very important to me, and I try to make paintings which can be appreciated by anyone, even if they have no particular interest in birds.

After many years of painting very detailed pictures in gouache, I’ve recently started using acrylics on canvas, which has made my work looser. The birds are still accurately depicted, but in a softer style.

I am an active birder, but no longer travel to see rarities, preferring more relaxed birding at my local patches in Leicestershire, with occasional trips elsewhere, especially Norfolk and Suffolk. Between 1990 and 2003 I visited the Isles of Scilly (my favourite place in Britain) every October, and have also visited Shetland several times. In recent years, 'mothing' has almost taken over from birding as my main natural history interest.

Interests outside natural history and art include listening to music (anything from techno to classical), watching sport, reading, writing and computing (especially web design).

All text, images & design © Andrew Mackay 2002 - 2010

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