Birds

Rating:
Summary: Nice but Disappointing
Review: Robert Bateman is one of my favorite wildlife artist, and his first two books are absolutely outstanding. But after that, my sense is that the quality of his work has been going down, while the prices of his paintings (and maybe because of this) have been going up. This book is at the very bottom of his (in my opinion) downward trend. A very few of the paintings you will find in this book are great, but most are unimpressive, and some are outright ugly, clearly done in a rush. You will find very few of those beautiful masterpieces in which the nature surrounding the animal is as important as (sometimes more than) the animal itself. This is an OK book, but it's been a great disappointment, especially because I remember the awe that his previous work inspired me. If you really have to purchase ONE recent book on wildlife art my advice is: buy Jonsson's "Birds and light", which in my opinion is as outstanding as the earlier Bateman (but his style is completely different).

Rating:
Summary: Bateman Soars
Review: Robert Bateman's Birds exquisite visual imagery is brought to life by the richness of narratives that evoke the senses. One experiences the subjects from an armchair with almost the authenticity of a field sighting. As a Bateman fan, I continue to be impressed by his extraordinarily gifted and sensitive depictions of our natural world.

Rating:
Summary: Birds is wonderfully alive
Review: Robert Bateman's latest book Birds (foreword by Peter Maththiessen, Pantheon Books, 2002) is a selection of birds he has painted near his home and around the world. For followers of Bateman, this is not a collection of paintings seen in previous books - most of the nearly 200 paintings were painted in the last few years. They include pencil and watercolour wash sketches to full canvas paintings. Characteristic of Bateman's work, the birds in Birds are wonderfully alive. His snow goose bursting from a nest exhibits the explosiveness of the event. A blue crane wading in evening light on a languid pond is exquisitely designed. A foreboding assault by giant petrels on a gentoo penguin is portrayed with all its fury and vigor of the moment. Accompanying each painting is a brief text describing Bateman's experiences and some natural history. This book would make a marvelous addition to anyone interested in nature or art.