The wildlife artists who will be present at this year’s Society of Wildlife Artists Exhibition produce work that it is well worth making the trip to see. The exhibition will be held at the Mall Galleries, London, and runs from 30 October  – 9 November. The Field is always keen to see the works of sporting artist and we feature a regular column in the magazine.

WILDLIFE ARTISTS – FREE FOR FIELD READERS

If you do visit the SWLA exhibition, Field readers can enter the exhibition for free. Just mention The Field at the gallery desk, and then spend a pleasant afternoon deciding which artists would look best on which wall.

The 51st annual exhibition promises to showcase an eye catching array of work that has been inspired by the natural world. Wildlife artists can depict hare, gannet or guinea fowl in oil, watercolour or steel. But what ties the exhibition together is the enormous empathy each one of the wildlife artists feel for their subject matter.

Society of Wildlife Artists Annual Exhibition 2014. Max Angus’ Alexanders and Racing Hares £325

Max Angus’ beautifully rustic Alexanders and Racing Hares – North Norfolk Linocut (£325, unframed £260) comes in an edition of 45, with 5 available. Angus captures the north Norfolk ambience adeptly, the blues and greys of the vast Norfolk skies echoed in the lines of the plough.

Harriet Mead’s Tack Hammer Deer £795 is made from steel

Harriet Mead’s Tack Hammer Deer (£795) is made from steel, but the sinewy beauty of the cervine shape disguises the industrial heritage of the material. It would look wonderful nestled in the landscape somewhere, and equally at home in a minimalist loft or a traditional country estate.

How the wildlife artists who exhibit create their work is a pleasure to unfold, and the exhibition promises to have plenty of buying opportunities.

This year the SWLA has collaborated with the British Trust for Ornithology on a bird migration project. Two wildlife artists spent two weeks in Senegal with BTO scientists, other wildlife artists visited breeding grounds in the UK. And the resulting work was a study in bird migration.