About this item
This book is the culmination of various expeditions made by well-known artist and bestselling author David Bellamy to his beloved Arctic. His descriptions of his travels, written from an artist's point of view, vividly bring to life the challenges he faced when painting outdoors in one of the harshest environments on the planet, and make for an exhilarating and captivating read. Filled with David's watercolor paintings and sketches, made during his various expeditions, the book provides a fascinating insight into the wildlife and people that live within the Arctic Circle and captures perfectly the majesty and breathtaking beauty of the world's final wilderness.
About the Author
Born in Pembroke, South Wales, David travels widely in search of subjects to paint and is especially fascinated by mountains, the Arctic in its various moods, wild coastlines and desert scenery. In his search for subjects to paint he has fallen over a crocodile in Kenya, sketched on dog-sledges in Greenland and taught Maasai warriors to sketch in Tanzania even though they insisted on retaining a spear in one hand, the pencil in another. While sketching a natural ice bridge in Iceland he suddenly found the ground beneath him disintegrating, and he only just managed to leap to safety at the last moment.His latest book, Arctic Light, has recently been awarded Best Outdoor Book 2017 by the British Outdoor Writers' & Photographers' Guild.David's paintings are mainly landscapes in watercolour, though increasingly with mixed media. These are all based on first-hand experience, his original sketches often showing signs of being done in pouring rain, or washes frozen into intricate patterns, or mud-spattered. It is from his love of the natural environment, wildlife, and especially the wild places, that he draws his inspiration. He has paintings in the collections of mountaineers Sir Chris Bonington and Doug Scott, broadcaster Sir David Attenborough and the author Bill Bryson, among others.He has exhibited widely, including Lincoln Joyce Fine Art in Surrey, Mathaf Gallery in Belgravia, London, Osborne Studio Gallery in London and many others.A full time artist and author, David has written eighteen books illustrated by his paintings, with several translated into other languages. Eight films on watercolour painting by David have been produced by APV Films of Chipping Norton, England, and he has also made three DVDs on his Arctic expeditions in Greenland and Svalbard. He writes for Leisure Painter magazine as well as others such as BBC Wildlife Magazine and Greenland Today. He also runs occasional watercolour courses and demonstrates to art societies. David has been featured on radio and television in numerous programmes, including his own series Painting Wild Wales on HTV(Wales) . He is featured in Who's Who in Art. Further information can be found on his website www.davidbellamy.co.uk
