Alan Hunt

Alan Hunt was born in the industrial North East of England in an era, when traditionally eldest sons followed in their father's footsteps. For Alan, his artistic talents began to show when he was quite young and, fortunately, his talents were encouraged by his family. Alan attended Middlesbrough Art College in Yorkshire and went on to study zoology at Leeds College and Bristol University. This backround of scientific and artistic skills causes Alan to call himself "the zoologist who paints wildlife".

Alan has worked with animals both in the wild and in captivity, in parks, zoos and wildlife reserves around the world. He has acted as a guide for birdwatchers and naturalists in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and North America. Alan began to paint full time after his artwork inspired much interest.

Over the years, Alan has exhibited his artwork around the world and has gained many honours and awards. His wildlife art hangs in many public and private collections throughout the world, including Holland's prestigious Jacht Museum.

Alan paints only during the daylight hours; he never uses artificial light. Working in a variety of media, primarily oil and gouache, but also ink, acrylic, egg tempera and watercolour, Alan achieves a variety of exquisite textures from feathers to rocks.With his backrounds in both art and zoology, Alan has the advantage of being able to study wildlife from two perspectives - that of a scientist as well as an artist. His extensive world travels, observations and experience with wild animals clearly show in his style of painting, which is both accurate and evocative. "I try everything", says Alan, "I'm not set in my ways. In almost every painting, I change something or try something different".

A devoted conservationist, Alan is very involved with worldwide fund-raising efforts. Alan makes whatever contributions he can to conservation causes, as he considers animals first and foremost. He now concentrates on painting endangered speices to draw as much attention as possible to their threatened survival. "Humans are destroying wildlife and the planet, and we are animals, too," says Alan. "If my son doesn't get to see half the wildlife in his lifetime that I've seen, I'll feel very guilty. Rather than become famous as a painter, I would like to be remembered as someone who tried to make people aware of the need to protect the environment and the planet."

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