Hometown: Fredericksburg, VA

Stewart and Steven Wegner are twin brothers who, for over 60 years, have shared a common thread of life and art. Together, they have been creating art for more than 37 years. The combination of talent and unity which these two brothers share provides a unique catalyst in their ability to create some of the finest Wildlife art that can be found anywhere in the country.

Hometown: Golden, CO

I work in stone, wood and bronze. My inspiration is nature, but my subject matter is design, flow and balance. I have been a professional artist since 1985 as my sole income and I’m grateful to have won many awards from coast to coast in juried shows. Permanent placements include the cities of Hurst, Tx, Lenexa, KS, Jupiter, FL, Greeley, CO and Gillette, WY to name a few. An elected member of Academic Artist Association, Allied Artists of America, National Sculpture Society and Society of Animal Artists, Pati is lucky to be able to volunteer at Nature’s Educators in Aurora, CO.

Pati is the artist for the 2023 Featured Art Piece. You can learn more about the Featured Art Piece, Aesop’s Fable here.

Hometown: Milwaukee, WI

“I sculpt because I enjoy the challenge of manipulating space, I choose birds as my subject matter because they fascinate me to no end.”

 

Using birds as a point of departure for his welded sculptures, Don explores the relationship of positive and negative space and manipulates this interplay to give the impression of life and movement in his work. Although somewhat abstract, his artwork is firmly based on anatomical accuracy and fidelity to his subjects character. “I feel you should have an intimate understanding of your subject matter before you attempt to abstract it. This allows you to select which characteristics to emphasize, or de-emphasize, to portray your subject truthfully..without extraneous clutter “.

 

BACKGROUND

 

Don was born, raised, and currently lives in Milwaukee WI.
After earning his BFA from UW Milwaukee in 1995, he began sculpting part-time while partnering in the establishment of Vanguard Sculpture Services, a full service art foundry, where he specialized in the casting and fabrication of monumental bronze sculpture. In 2001 he left the foundry to focus his sculpture full time. Don also teaches an introduction to welded sculpture course at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, and has been a yearly exhibitor at the Waterfowl Festival since 1997. He was inducted into the Festival Hall of Fame in 2017.

 

Don has exhibited his sculptures across the United States and abroad, and has had his work included the international “Bird’s in Art” Exhibition at the Leigh Yawkey Woodsen Art Museum in Wausau, WI 19 times. He was honored with the Woodson’s “Master Artist” award in 2017. He has public placements in seven states, and his work can be found in numerous museum and private collections around the world. He is also an avid bird watcher, and holds a Master class falconry permit.

Hometown: Rochester, NY

Al Jordan began his career in bird sculpture over 25 years ago by carving a Bufflehead decoy – it won every competition entered. Since that time he has won over 100 Best In Show awards throughout the U.S., and recently placed 3rd best in the world at the prestigious Ward World Championship Wildfowl Carving Competition. He is the author of one of Stackpole’s best selling workshop carving guides, Half-Sized Osprey, and regularly writes articles for Wildfowl Carving and Collecting Magazine.

 

Jordan is a highly respected and sought after carving show judge, judging competitions at all levels, from Novice to Professional and is also a gifted carving teacher, with many of his students winning awards at local, regional and national competitions. As an integral part of his ongoing development as an artist, Jordan is also a Master Falconer, and is recognized as one of the most successful falconers on the East Coast.

Hometown: Amissville, VA

As an active kid growing up in rural New York, Jeff Rechin found the combination of his love of the outdoors — particularly birds and his artistic ability — to be a perfect marriage for his lifelong career as a carver.

 

A self-taught carver, Rechin honed his craft by watching his fellow carvers at work. “I watched their different techniques and saw how far they were taking their carvings,” says Rechin, who started out carving “smoothies”, that is, carvings with very little texture or detail, before finding his way to the signature detailed style he’s known for. His inspiration comes from many places, but namely from birds with features that allow him lots of ways to represent the animation background he inherited from his father.

 

“I have carved all kinds of birds, but the ones I am really drawn to are the birds with really prominent linear lines, there is so much more you can do, animation wise, when you carve them,” says Rechin. “I like carving those birds whose features you can really contort. You can push them to almost exaggeration because of those lines.”

 

Wild turkeys and Merlins are two of his favorite birds to carve for this reason, the latter being the subject of this year’s Master Carving. Merlins, rather small falcons are compact, fast-flying birds, says Rechin. While he has been carving since childhood, he admits the artistic inspiration and love of his craft is not fading anytime soon.

Hometown: Onley, VA

Since 1983, William H. and David H. Turner, a father and son team, have been designing and casting wildlife sculptures in bronze. Bill and David Turner both grew up and currently reside on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Their studios, gallery and foundry are located on Route 13 near Onley, Virginia. To date they have created more than 600 different limited edition bronzes and more than 150 large public commissions. Ranging in size from life-size mice and wrens to full size bears and dolphins, the Turners have a sculpture to fit the smallest niche in a home or to enhance the entrance of a zoo or museum. Whatever the case, the Turner’s work is a reflection of their deep appreciation and understanding of nature.

Hometown: Tunis Mills, MD

Matthew Hillier was born in the Buckinghamshire village of Farnham Common, which is a stone’s throw from Windsor Castle. His family moved down to West Sussex and he was lucky enough to be brought up in a beach house in a small seaside community called Elmer Sands.

 

At sixteen Matthew left school to attend Dyfed College Of Art in Carmarthen S.Wales. The College was the first in the country to offer a “Wildlife Illustration Course and  Matthew was the youngest student in the College. He spent three Idyllic years traveling around the Welsh countryside learning to paint Birds and Animals.  He Graduated with distinction.

 

Before his eighteenth birthday he had three of his paintings accepted by the Royal Academy for its Summer Exhibition.  This was a first, and led to a barrage of publicity, and some very useful early name recognition.

 

He went on to earn his living as a wildlife artist and illustrator.  Over the next few years he Illustrated many books, magazines, calendars, greetings cards etc, whilst also finding time to have exhibitions of his paintings. He was elected a member of the Society Of Wildlife Artists, as well as being a regular exhibitor in many of the other societies Including The Paris Salon, the Pastel Society and the Society Of Marine Artists.  Over the years he has won many awards all over the World. His Illustration Career culminated in a Commission to Illustrate a large limited edition book called “The Rhinoceros, A Monograph. This commission changed everything. He spent several years traveling around the World  studying four of the five species of Rhinos in their habitat. He was Invited to spend three months in Zimbabwe looking at Black and White Rhinos and spent time in the jungle in Sumatra with ”Torgamba”, a beautiful Sumatran rhino.

 

He began to work with publishers in the States doing limited edition prints. Whilst working with Mill Pond press he was Invited by the company to spend two years in Florida. During this time he was sent to galleries around the country promoting his prints.  Whilst on a Plein Air painting course in Montana he began dating the artist Julia Rogers. They went on to marry. They have a teenage son Patrick, and two older step children, Matthew and Stephanie.

Hometown: Easton, MD

During her life as a painter, Nancy Tankersley has moved fluidly from portraiture to still life and figurative paintings and finally on to plein air landscapes. “I think it is important for contemporary artists to capture the land and the people as they are today. I do not try to romanticize or invent my subjects, but I do try to show the beauty of the ordinary. People engaged in their occupations, enjoying their leisure time by eating, shopping or just strolling down a street, as well as abandoned and often overlooked landscapes … all of these are ordinary subjects, which can make extraordinary paintings. I try to paint from life as much as possible so that my work has the authenticity that comes from capturing a moment in time.”

 

The breath of her themes has enabled her to draw what she has learned from each and apply that knowledge with conviction in each painting. In “Still Floating”, Tankersley draws upon her skill with the figure in capturing the gesture of the lone waterman oaring his way to his old moored workboat, checking its hull and lines and making sure she is still afloat. As one can see by the numerous boats that have meet a watery end, this is a task that a good waterman must attend to frequently. I started this painting as a plein air painting, drawn by the light, but ended up adding the figure and placing the half submerged hulls as design elements to encase the lone figure. I’ve always enjoyed capturing the gesture of the figure and especially that of figures at work.” In the past two decades she has explored workers of the restaurant industry, first responders, landscapers, airport workers, dancers and even cowboys!

 

Her work was recently accepted into the first online International Exhibition of Marine Art which includes the work of artists from US, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Australia. The artist is represented by the Trippe Gallery in Easton, Maryland; Anderson Gallery in St. Simons, Georgia; and Gallery 330 in Fredricksburg, Texas.

 

Tankersley enjoys teaching and mentoring other artists and will continue teaching virtually as well as in Portugal, Georgia and Italy. Her instructional DVD’s, Painting Figures from Photographs and Essential Principles of painting, is available through Lillidahl Instructional Videos.

Hometown: Trappe, MD

Jill’s work is typically quiet, often with muted colors and purposefully simple design. She is dedicated to conveying the light, atmosphere, and “feeling” of the landscapes she paints and wants to evoke an emotional reaction. Basham paints in her Maryland studio near the Chesapeake Bay, as well as outdoors, in locations both far and near. She is comfortable allowing each painting and its subject to lead her on an exploratory, experimental journey, as this approach often yields the most unexpected and visually exciting results.
Basham has been consistently drawn to expansive, atmospheric views; whether it’s observing Chicago from above or looking out from a mountaintop in Georgia.

 

Having earned numerous awards and honors, some of Basham’s more recent accomplishments include a 2022 Oil Painters of America Wet Paint Award from respected artist, Dave Santillanes; “Best of Show”, in Plein Air Easton (modified for 2020); “Best of Show” for her work at the Door County Plein Air Invitational by C.W. Mundy, master artist; and the “Judges Award” at Olmsted Plein Air for two different works by both Peter Trippi, editor-in-chief of Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine; and Kelly Kane, editor-in-chief of Plein Air Magazine.

 

Jill is pleased to be an Associate member of Oil Painters of America. She is also a member of The American Impressionist Society; as well as two historic art organizations, The Washington Society of Landscape Painters and The Salmagundi Club, NYC.

 

Gallery representation includes Reinert Fine Art, the 2023 OPA Convention’s hosting gallery.