As the most powerful creatures on the planet we can easily overlook our irrelavence to the perpetual drama unfolding in the animal kingdom, few of us will ever witness first hand the most dramatic aspects of nature, as the largest and most elaborate creatures dwell in the most inhospitable places, far from risk of exploitation. But with an open mind, and a little imagination, almost any living thing on any scale can appear magnificent, I constantly remind myself to look twice at any wild creature, no matter how common, and I am provided with an inexhaustable source of inspiration.
I have always prefered the works of the surrealist painters, realistically rendering the recognisable along side the unrecognisable. Rene Magritte once said:
"The purpose of art is mystery."
The natural world continues to be a mystery to us simply because it is living, and implementing an alien spectrum of techniques to do so. And yet it is not surreal, but out there actually happening, and yet in danger of becoming fantastic. |
