Artist Shows How It's Done

ANDOVER based professional wildlife artist Pip McGarry has spent two weeks being filmed at Marwell Zoological Park, as the subject of an instructional oil painting video.

Following a report in magazine Teaching Art Ltd about Pip's work, one of the biggest producers of tutorial art videos and books in the country, contacted Marwell about producing the video on Pip's wildlife painting techniques.

Filmed in the grounds of Marwell Zoological Park, Pip sketched meerkats from life, painted a portrait of a white rhino and demonstrated methods of tackling backgrounds.

He also could be seen feeding giraffes and stroking the rhino's whilst discussing wildlife conservation issues with their keepers.

Pip, who is a professional artist and has a very big following locally, has been Marwell's 'artist in residence' since January 1999.

He is also the founder and chairman of the Marwell Art Society, which has subsequently grown into the largest wildlife art society in the UK with around 250 members, with over 70 professional artists and members from Greece, Spain, France, Kenya and South Africa.

Pip's paintings have been reproduced as limited edition prints by two major fine art publishers since 1998 and a record £15,000 was paid for a big cat original at a northern gallery last year.

He has also been organisingand leading safaris for artists and photographers to the remote game reserves of northern Botswana for several years and this year's trip saw all 18 places fill within three weeks of places becoming available.

The video is due for release by October and details will available from various outlets including Marwell.