“Big things have little beginnings, and I hope all of us who advocate on behalf of others, of whatever species, can bring about needed change in how we do things.”
— Barry Kent MacKay
Barry Kent MacKay:
Artist, Author, Advocate.
Renowned Canadian bird artist, writer, naturalist, and conservationist Barry Kent MacKay celebrates the innate beauty of birds and nature: “I’m enchanted by the form of birds. I think artistically, the forms, the curves, the counter-curves of a bird are quite beautiful. I feel that about fish or mammals or plants too.”
Paintings
Barry’s zoologically accurate style and often life-size representation of birds and other wildlife has put him in demand for commissions, to illustrate books and journals, and to contribute his work to conservation awareness campaigns. His passion for the natural word infuses all his work: “I wish I had a thousand lifetimes, and so could paint all the birds in many different ways and also feel I had the luxury of time to paint mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, landscapes, architecture, people and all the other wonderful images that fill each day that I would love to examine through the mechanism of my art.”
My Heroes, My Influences
The shelves of bookstores and websites of online book sellers and publishers are filled with lavishly illustrated books on birds from every corner of the globe, or the ever-shifting taxonomic spectrum, and no longer can the works of the artists who came before me be enjoyed for their singularity, there on the meeting place between art, science, realism, and impressionism. Now elderly, I consider myself a throwback to those earlier artists; they are all that I wanted to be or want to be. Here are my impressions of them, honed through decades of my own development, self-education, experience, and reflection. I owe them this effort. I am happy to pay.