Martin Ridley - Landscape and Wildlife Artist

Extensive gallery of bird, wildlife paintings and wildlife art prints

• Birds
• Mammals
• Landscapes
• On the Easel
• Site search

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Martin has worked as a professional wildlife artist since 1989. When asked what inspires him Martin simply answers "the natural world". An enthusiastic observer of nature he thoroughly enjoys the creative challenge of capturing his experiences.

Training
Graduating in 1988 from the Carmarthenshire College of Technology and Art with the highest awards ever given to a student completing the wildlife illustration course he was not only awarded a distinction but was nominated course, faculty and college student of the year.

In 1999 a painting was selected for the prestigious Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Birds in Art exhibition in the USA. The painting was further selected from the show to go on tour. Works are exhibited annually at The Society of Wildlife Artists of which he has been elected an associate member.

Spring 2019 was his nineth Artist in Residency at The Society of Wildlife Art of The Nations at Nature in Art, Gloucestershire. April 2000 saw his second successful exhibition at The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Slimbridge. Martin's work appeared on regional television and he has diversified into giving talks about his work.

Painting Style

A painter of both mammals and birds Martin Ridley has spent much time developing a knowledge of the field, which is clearly reflected in his work. Combined with conceptual composition his attention to animal behaviour, habitat detail and lighting creates an amazingly accurate and artistic record of his nature encounters. Particular attention is given to integrating his subjects into their natural habitat. Any featured rocks and branches are likely to be given as much attention as the animal content.  He prefers to depict the wildlife in a setting that records the “whole” experience of an encounter and the “whole” may be more about the moody landscape than the focal point of a deer placed carefully to offer scale. 

Patterns found within nature hold a particular attraction and are often a key feature within his work.  Martin derives much of his satisfaction in the studio by exploring the possibilities of composition.  The rendering of weather conditions to create atmospheric situations then enhances this compositional creativity.

Inspirations are principally collected during extensive periods of fieldwork when Martin tends to concentrate his observations on one species at a time enabling him to attain an in-depth understanding of behaviour.  This has involved activities such as going out in the snow at 4.30am to watch displaying black grouse from a portable hide and nightly visits to badgers and foxes resulting in their eventual habituation to his presence.

Awards

At The Wildlife Art Society's 1995 Exhibition at the Westminster Galleries in London, Martin was awarded Best Painting in Show, Best Oil Painting and Best Newcomer. In 1997 he was a finalist in the Laing sponsored seascape and landscape painting competition and in the following year two works were finalists in the touring Nature in Art exhibition. In 2022 Martin was the winner of two Honorable Mention Awards at the Artists for Nature Conservation Exhibition.

Publications

A plethora of Martin's images have gone into printed circulation including illustrations for books, magazines, prints, cards, stamps and calendar designs.

He has the cover and a chapter in the book Deer: Artists' Impressions by Quiller Press (Foreword by Prince Charles)
https://www.martinridley.com/_deer-artists-impressions-book.html

Further paintings have illustrated the book titled "The Best of Wildlife Art"

Stella McCartney - Justin Timberlake

In 2018 one of Martin's designs was licenced by the fashion brand "Stella McCartney". His image of red deer was used to create a shirt worn by Justin Timberlake. He wore it whilst he performed the halftime show at the Superbowl. It was then used again for his "Man of the Woods World Tour. An amazing 100 million people watched the performance and Martin spent the best part of a week doing interviews after the story went viral! There is plenty of coverage on the internet.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-42975677
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scots-based-artists-surprise-one-11982926
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/local/perth-kinross/595430/stag-gering-justin-timberlake-puts-perthshire-painters-work-front-millions-super-bowl-viewers/
https://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/15986626.good-week-for-artist-martin-ridley-and-justin-timberlake-fans-bad-week-for-toy-tigers/
https://uk.fashionnetwork.com/news/Stella-McCartney-designs-Justin-Timberlake-s-tour-wardrobe,958682.html#.XRYsMehKh9M

In the UK work has featured amongst others in The Artist, BBC Wildlife, Leisure Painter, CountryLife, The Field and Heritage magazines. The list continues "Deer", Journal of British Deer Society, Country Lifestyle Scotland Magazine and Artists for Conservation Books and Calendars 2020 & 2022. In the USA his paintings have been used in the Western Art Collector, American Falconry Magazine and the Wildlife Art magazine. In 2022 a collection of Martin's North American subjects is being published by McGaw Graphics.

Artworks have been utilized as covers for the following publications; 1999 autumn issue of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust magazine, the WeBs Wetland Bird Survey 1994-95 and 1997-98. Published images include; several twelve-piece calendars, which were sold in aid of The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the cover image for The Birdwatchers Yearbook and Diary.

Exhibition Venues

In recent years Martin has sold much of his work directly from the studio or via the internet. When exhibiting he rotated his venues.

Hatton House Art & Design, Dunkeld

Nature in Art, Twigworth, Gloucestershire

Tryon Gallery, 7 Bury Street, St. James's, London

The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, Slimbridge and The Wetlands Centre, London

The House of Bruar, Perthshire

RSPB Vane Farm, Loch Leven, Kinross, Scotland

Watch out for his work at the galleries listed above or look at his Forthcoming Exhibitions. There are also several country fairs that Martin exhibits at annually.

"Over the Shoal", Gannets

Original oil painting
image 24 x 48 inches
£6200, Sold 3/3/09 Currency Converter

Available as a Gannet Print on Canvas

Purchase Enquiry