jackie besteman

I have been painting birds for 3 years ( having worked as an illustrator for most of my career) Birds inspire me immensely because of their wild beauty and keen intelligence. City people especially treasure these wonderful creatures as they are a vivid connection to nature which is often hard to find in the concrete jungle. Not wanting to be a traditional wildlife painter I enjoy perching the birds on familiar and iconic objects. I am happy to forfeit a realistic relationship between bird and object but the overall design has to be harmonious and the bird is always the focal point. I enjoy working out the colour of the background. The main objective is for the bird to pop.