Viewing Thursday 25 February 2016, 18.00 – 21.00
Exhibition runs Friday 26 February – Saturday 26 March 2016
Birdman of Tarbock finally flies in with debut exhibition
It’s taken more than 30 years but Liverpool artist Anthony Smith is finally staging his debut exhibition.
The award winning ‘bird man of Tarbock‘ started to draw and sketch birds he spotted outside the windows of the family home in the rural belt just beyond the city boundary. And that was when he was aged just three.
It was in 1984, graduating from the art school at the old Liverpool Poly that he became a professional artist, and he has been capturing wildlife, in sketches, watercolours, acrylics and oils ever since.
In 1988 Anthony won the ‘Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Fine Art Award’ at the Society of Wildlife Artists Exhibition at the Mall Galleries, London, where he was also Runner-up in the ‘Natural World Art Award’.
He is a regular exhibitor at the National Exhibition of Wildlife Art (N.E.W.A.) and his paintings can be found in collections in America, Europe and Japan.”
Although his work has been featured in many exhibitions, Anthony’s incredible art has never been seen as a collection.
That will all change when the first ever exhibition of more than 30 of his paintings takes place at Liverpool independent gallery, View Two at 23 Mathew Street.
He said: “It is just something I never got round to doing, but I have always wanted an exhibition of my work. I am delighted my debut solo exhibition will be in Liverpool.
“I was drawing and sketching pretty much as soon as I was walking. I just loved to copy pictures from books. I still have some of those drawings.
“It was something I kept up all through my school life, then to the polytechnic and as soon as I graduated I started to paint as a freelance.”
At one exhibition he met somebody from Chester Zoo, and that opened the door to a new artistic direction. He was hired, and remains, as the zoo’s official artist.
It meant him rubbing shoulders, almost, with elephants,zebras, lizards and other inhabitants at the zoo.
Recently he has completed a massive task of producing pictures of every specie at the zoo, more than 400 pictures altogether.
With an opening event on Thursday, February 25 (6pm till 9pm). The free exhibition is open Fridays and Saturdays, noon until 5pm (other times by appointment) until March 26.
“The exhibition features paintings and watercolours that I painted over the last couple of years. A few are from trips made to Lindisfarne, Pembroke and Oban but most are from locations nearer to home, inspired by looking out of the kitchen window, “ said Anthony who also ventured to the Mersey shoreline, around Oglet and Hale.
“In my paintings I try to recreate the experience of me seeing the bird, some of them busy and noisy and some very quiet and still.”
