Outdoor Art: Bringing the Hunt Home
Hunting with Joe Byers 02.11.14
Hunts make great memories, yet hunting art stirs the mind and imagination and becomes a treasure that captures the essence of our passion. Late winter is show time across the country, and wildlife artists will be displaying their inspirations to thousands of outdoor-minded enthusiasts. It’s also when many conservation groups hold fundraisers, and donated art can bring a lifetime of enjoyment.
The Safari Club International Convention is a showcase for world-class art and here are six prime examples of outdoor art, as well as an explanation of each work by the artist. The details behind the image often greatly increase understanding and appreciation. See if you agree.
Brian Jarvi
“This piece is titled ‘Defense of the Realm’ and depicts a dramatic moment in the life of a lion pride,” Jarvi shared. “There is a possible takeover by approaching male lions, a theme of life and death. The medium is oil on Belgium linen.” Visit his website here.
Kobus Moller
Kobus Moller, born and raised in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), stands here beside “Ancient Pathways.”
“Apparently elephants had areas they walked through for centuries and as development came along those pathways disappeared,” said Moller. “I have walked in the bush many times, and you see an elephant in front of you and it’s way too close. You don’t know if you can back out, [and you wonder] how did you allow yourself to get into this situation. You try to get out of the area and you find another one behind you and another to the side. You have walked into a herd of elephants. This painting shows this close proximity. It’s oil on canvas. Much of my work is about texture. It’s no problem to touch it.”
Joshua Spies
“Originally, I’m from Watertown, South Dakota,” Joshua Spies told me. “Growing up in the Dakotas and surrounding states, it’s always been a passion of mine to go after mule deer. I’m a big fan of almost everything else, too. The mood of this painting is soft. An acrylic painting, it’s kind of a snowy scene and I wanted to use soft colors to make it blend together. If you look closely in the painting you will see a bedded doe hidden in the grass.
“It’s titled ‘Looking Back’ because it’s during the rut, and that buck knows it should be leaving the country. The doe is laying in the grass and it makes him vulnerable. It was a fun project to do and one that has become pretty popular.”
Terry Lee
“It’s a Masai woman that was commissioned by someone from my home town because he had a fondness for the Masai tribe,” Terry Lee shared with me. “I was elated. Usually, I just do animals and I really enjoyed it. I’ll be doing a life-size bronze of a warrior next year if I can get it all together. It was an exciting year. That’s life-size, six-foot two. I had a Masai gentleman look at it one time and he said, ‘Boy you really nailed it.’ It’s a metal bronze.
“I had a live model to work with to get the dimensions correct. The jewelry on her looks like the real stuff, but I made that, too.”
Maxine Bone
“I’m originally from Zimbabwe and now live in North Carolina,” Bone said. “When I was in Zim in 2008, I took a photograph of these two elephants. They weren’t together at the time but I composed them to make it a little more powerful. They are about to charge in the dust, and I thought it would be quite an impact piece, no pun intended.”
Robert Copple
“The piece is called ‘The Urge to Mount Kingdom,'” said Robert Copple. “I decided to create an image that I thought was quite interesting, something that I had not seen painted before. What you see is a mountain lion and her cubs have just awakened from a cat nap as the sun is starting to set in the west and the moon is rising in the east. If you look closely, you can see the different expressions on each kitten’s face. My goal was to create a different personality for each of the kittens. The idea was to have a different look for each of the animals as they look over the whole territory and go out and catch something to eat and the mother shows them how to kill. The kittens have blue eyes are the way they are born and as they mature the eye color goes to more of a hazel gold.”
