Description
Goshawk and Ruffed Grouse – 12 1/2″ x 20″ – 950 Edition Signed and Numbered Paper Print
“The goshawk is the largest and fiercest of the accipiter hawks. These are characterized by short, rounded wings and a long tail. They specialize in chasing prey, particularly birds through thick forest. They are adept at twisting and dodging through the trees. In olden times, they were used by kings and the highest nobles for hunting in Asia as well as Europe. Ruffed grouse is the favorite prey where they live within the same range. They are plump in build so that the hawk can acquire a relatively large amount of meat with one kill.
In the entire living world, the killing of one species must take place so that another species survives. This is just as true of man as it is of other predators. In nature, it is usually done quickly, cleanly and without anger. The faces of birds of prey usually look angry, but this is the way they are built. They always look that way. I like to capture the personality of particular species. Goshawks have a hatchet face, like a flat-sided wedge. To my mind, this makes him look like a cold killer, but he is no more so than the robin eating the worm or the owl eating the mouse.
I assemble my paintings as a watchmaker assembles a watch in that the elements are put together so that they work. You cannot move them around or add or subtract any more than you could do that with a watch and expect it to still work. The curving dead branch of aspen leaves on the left, for example, echoes the form of the grouse and is needed to keep the limbs from running out of the pictures. The hawk’s foot has killed the grouse and is grasping it, but you cannot see it. Instead, I have made the entire tree like a hawk’s foot and placed the grouse at the center of it.” – Robert Bateman
Goshawk and Ruffed Grouse is available
Biography
Robert Bateman has been called the most famous living artist. He continues to paint and tour the world to promote conservation and preservation of nature. We have represented Robert Bateman for decades and are now the sole publisher and distributor of his reproductions. We are so honored to work with him and witness his success. He has made such a massive contribution to the art world and the natural world as an artist and educator of the earth’s most important resources.
Nature as a subject is becoming more and more popular as our environment is in peril. What better subject is there than the beautiful creatures we share this world with? Robert Bateman’s appreciation and understanding of nature are apparent in his paintings. He is able to paint flora and fauna the way your eye would perceive it in real life. It is important that the animal takes full attention. The background becomes muted, and therefore it doesn’t take too much focus away from the subject. His paintings seem effortless and masterful all at once.
Bateman’s eye for composition is unparalleled. Each painting is a composed like a symphony, leading the eye to wander. From the backyards of North America to the sprawling plains of Africa. Robert Bateman captures nature the way it should be enjoyed. Above all he is a champion of wildlife. For this reason he has become a household name for art collectors.
