Noted British wildlife painter Maurice Pledger is back in Tasmania, and this time he’s brought a painting of the Tasmanian Tiger – Thylacinus cynocephalus – with him.
Mr Pledger likes to paint all his subjects from life, but this time had to be content to copy from skins, mounted remains and old photograps, as, like most of us, he has not yet come face to face with the fabled tiger.
Entitled ‘Enigmatic Tiger’, the creature’s striped form looms through the mist, posing the question many of us ask – ‘is it really there or isn’t it?’
The tiger is symbolic of the theme of his latest exhibition – Extinction is Forever – which opened in Hobart on September 20 and ends on October 6.
Mr Pledger is concerned about alerting Tasmanians to the beauties of our unique wildlife and the danger of extinction which is uncomfortably close for species such as the orange-bellied parrot.
He was last here two years ago, when he held a highly successful exhibition at Launceston’s Gallery 71. He says two years is too long to be away, but the 22 commissions he took back from Northern and North-western buyers meant he was pushed for time to meet his commitments with British book publishers and to do what he loves best – to paint Tasmanian birds, animals and plants.
His love affair with Tasmania began with his first visit in 1987, and he returned the next year to complete a commission of four trout paintings to coincide with the World Fly Fishing Championships.
Mr Pledger and the paintings appear in the film of the championships made by the Tasmanian Film Corporation. He has since been back each year, and this exhibition is a celebration of the wildlife and environment he has come to love.
He spends part of each year in Tasmania, taking in the details of its animals, fish, birds and plants as he fishes or bushwalks in the Brumby’s Creek and Lakes River area.
While out in the bush or fishing quietly in a creek, he is taking down every detail around him in pencil sketches and colour photos. “I have a caring attitude about the environment and being out in the bush relaxes me, ” he says.
He is passionate about Tasmanian wildlife, which he finds fresh and exciting every time he comes back.
“it’s an exotic experience for me, and I want to show Tasmanians what you’ve got here before it it’s too late.”
There are a lot of species in danger of becoming extinct with their habitats wiped out by human activity, and Mr Pledger has taken a new direction in some of his paintings, symbolising this threat.
“I painted the orange-bellied parrot partly in darkness with just a patch of light – the darkness symbolises extinction and the light shows that there is still hope.”
He has brought 45 original watercolours with him for his exhibition, covering subjects such as the sugar glider, rainbow trout, pygmy possum, orange-bellied parrot, blue wren, echidna, platypus, and his favourite, the womabt, in several poses.
The appeal of his paintings is immediate, capturing the nature as well as the outward look of each creature.
Each watercolour depicts its subject realistically in its natural environment and in typical actions, such as a kookaburra holding a black snake, a trout chasing a fisherman’s fly, or a marsh harrier diving to capture a smaller bird.
Every detail is exact, and some paintings can take up to 40 layers of paint in washes and tiny strokes, to get minute details such as fish scales or feather barbs exactly right.
The paintings are magnificently framed in Tasmanian timbers – Huon pine, sassafras, blackwood and myrtle – by local craftsman John Crook. The frames complement the watercolours perfectly, subtly reflecting the subject’s posture or colouring.
Tasmanians should be honoured to have such a distinguished painter fall in love with our State’s natural beauties.
At 36, Mt Pledger is established as one of Britain’s leading wildlife artists, renowned for the vibrancy and authenticity of his work, accurate to the most minute details.
Several of his paintings from the Guide to International Game Birds, with a foreword by the Duke of Edinburgh, are now in the Royal Collection.
Recently he turned down the opportunity of an exhibition at the prestigious King St Gallery in London’s West End, in order to come to Tasmania for this month’s exhibition.
“King St Gallery is one of the major art centres in London – it is THE place to exhibit,” he said.
But I don’t want to paint British subjects any more. I want to paint Tasmanian wildlife. So, if Tasmania will have me, I’ll keep coming back.”