Description
Fantastic pastel painting of an otter hunting for fish in a river by renowned wildlife artist Joel Kirk. Signed to the bottom right hand corner. Framed, mounted and glazed. Frame dimensions 74 x 57 cm. Painting itself 48 x 32 cm.
Joel Kirk is one of the world’s foremost wildlife artists. He has worked with both The Dian Fossey Foundation and The Born Free Foundation in order to raise funds for the protection of some of the world’s most majestic creatures.
The following is an excerpt from a newspaper article featuring this very painting…
Who remembers “A Ring Of Bright Water”….An Otter On The Hunt.
Hello again loyal readers. This week we have a beautiful wildlife painting by none other than Joel Kirk, allegedly one of Prince Charles’ favourite artists. The painting is of a British Otter on the hunt mid river. It is a stunning example of Kirk’s work. Joel Kirk is an active wildlife artist and is best known for the work that he has done over the years for three major conservation groups. Firstly, he got involved with The Dian Fossey Foundation of “Gorillas In The Mist” fame, now known as The Gorilla Organisation. He raised a huge amount of money for the foundation by donating paintings of gorillas to the foundation to raise much needed funds to secure the future of the wild Silverback Gorillas and many other species who were in danger of losing their habitats due to deforestation. Secondly, he was heavily involved with The Born Free Foundation, the charitable trust set up by Joy Adamson to preserve the future of the great wild Big Cats of Africa. He again supported their work by donating paintings of big cats. Kirk claims Joy Adamson as one of the major influences on his life. He is a current member of and tireless campaigner for The Royal Society for Animal Protection.
Joel Kirk was born in Dorking in 1948 and showed a true painting talent from very early in his life dominating school painting competitions with his love of wildlife being his main subject matter. His father was in The Coldstream Guards and after he left the regiment the family moved to Leigh on Sea in Essex. In 1972 Kirk was accepted into the Southend College of Art where he studied for three years. Upon successful completion of his course he instantly became a full-time professional artist. He was immediately picked up by various publishing houses who produced many limited edition and open prints of his stunning early wildlife art. This gave him a very solid start in his career which enabled him to travel the world to paint his beloved and varied wild animals.
This beautiful painting is a large pastel, Kirk’s favourite medium, of an otter hunting for food in the middle of a river just upstream from a fall or small weir. The otter has turned to look directly back at the painter over his right shoulder. The way Kirk has painted the river gives the feeling that the water is actually flowing past you as you look at the painting. The painting is mounted sympathetically and is glazed and in a modern gilded frame.
