An Artist in Focus: Szabolcs Kokay 'UNBELIEVABLE'

I was once having a conversation with Rebecca Nason on Fair Isle and can remember mentioning to her how amazing Szabolcs Kokay's artwork was.

Rebecca was in complete agreement and as coincidence would have It she told me that her stall was next to his at the bird fair.

At this point I vividly remember turning to her and saying that she should keep an eye on his work as he will undoubtedly become one of the masters of Bird and Wildlife illustration!

However I think I may have been wrong when I said "BECOME" I think I meant to say 'IS' and I hope this video illustrates my point!

HOW DOES HE DO IT??????



More of Szabolcs Kokay's mind blowing work can be found at:

http://www.kokay.hu/

and on his blog at:

http://kokayart.blogspot.com/

Check out his Squacco Heron in Watercolour....I'm speechless!

New Book: Drawing and Painting Birds by Tim Wootton

Where do I begin!

Lets just say I wake up very tired as I can't seem to put it down when I begin to read it just before bed. Not only is the text addictive but the pages are decorated from top to bottom with amazing artwork from some of my favourite artists and now new favourite artists.

Every aspect of bird art is covered in the book and takes you through each necessary step to get you started until you have reached completion on a finished piece. The beauty of any art book is its ability to relate to and inspire the beginner such as myself as well as a master of the field and this book does just that.

The book is segregated into the following sections

1. Why Paint Birds?
2. Drawing Techniques
3. Anatomy
4.Drawing Bird Types
5.Adding Paint
6.What and where to Paint
7. Elements of Composition: Placing the Birds in Context
8.Advance Techniques

and is a mass montage of colour, energy, and beauty that clearly conveys Tim Wootton's skill as a bird artist, his personal journey through art and his great passion for birds, bird art, the artists that inspired him and for life itself.

The only negative points I have to make about the book is the fact I don't get anytime to do my own art now because I can't put the book down. Also the book is beginning to jeopardise my relationship, as my girlfriend has lost me to the book and is sick of hearing 'how do you do that' and 'have you seen this' and 'WOW. WOW.WOW...look at this'.

It was bad enough before this book was published as I had not one, but two of John Busby's drawing birds books and now I have three books next to one another that talk to me when I'm sat around the house, 'PICK ME UP, PICK ME UP, YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO' there worse than Kinder Bueno's....Yes its the book has be likened to Busby's books but honestly who gives a monkeys, surely more the merrier.

To all those negative critics I would like to refer to something John Busby once wrote:

'Too many wildlife artists shut their eyes to the values of the wider world of art, and then complain that their own work, which may ignore the aesthetic and emotional energies that are the lifeblood of art, is not admitted in the same league. Knowledge of subject matter is not enough. Art is a synthesis, a unity of the ideas and the means used to express them'

Yes I'm obsessed with this book and Busby's book and yes I don't care and I'm sure you will be yourself on opening it up. If you simply love birds or simply love illustrating and painting them you have to get this, that is unless you have a art deadline to meet

Right I have to go as I have a book to read.........oh and I may need to look into relationship counselling

Firstly a Huge Well done and Thank you to Tim Wootton and to all the featured artist

KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK

Mark Andrews
Paul Bartlett
Robert Bateman
David Bennett
Arthur Bishop
Adam Bowley
John Busby
Alan Dalton
Adrian Dancy
Nick Derry
Paschalis Dougalis
Andrew Ellis
Angela French
Paul Hawkyard
Debby Kaspari
Ed Keeble
Szabolcs Kokay
Peter Mathios
Clive Meredith
Jocelyn Oudesluys
Bruce Pearson
Jonathan Pointer
Chris Rose
Beth Rosenkoeffer
John Threlfall
Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe
Esther Tyson
Franciscus Van Boxtel
Barry Van Dusen
Katrina Van Grouw
Juan Varela (all I can say if you haven't seen it already is wait until you see the drake Shoveler.....WOW)
Mike Woodcock
Darren Woodhead
Tim Wootton