Albert Earl Gilbert (1939 -- )

One day a few years ago I received a phone call out of the blue.  It was Al Gilbert on the other end.  He had kindly looked me up simply to have a chat.  It was the most memorable phone calls of my life.  An American, Gilbert brought to bird illustration a personal brilliance in his ability to touch all the bases  ornithological accuracy, composition, evocation of habitat, behavior, texture and so on. Also, like Clem, he mastered, as I have rarely been able to do, the rendering of light and shadow on the bodies of birds.  Working in watercolors he could handle them translucently, or opaquely, or both, and his drawing skills and handling of vegetation were all inspirational to me.  He shared my own high opinion of the work of Allan Brooks. Older than me, he attained successes I could, when young, only dream of, and I always knew that his work was dependable and I assumed in endless demand by writers and publishers. And so I told him I envied his ability to earn a living as a full time bird artist, and was shocked when he said, no, he could not have done that.  He earned money other ways and, like me, only extra income painting birds. Depressing. But his work was and is an inspiration to me; he belongs on this list, and I was ever so grateful for his call.