Artist's Statement - Pete Marshall
I have learned to look on nature ... and I have felt a presence that disturbs me with joy of elevated thoughts ... of something far more deeply interfused ....
William Wordsworth
Our ability to perceive quality in nature begins, as in art, with the pretty. It expands through successive states of the beautiful to values as yet uncaptured in language - as yet beyond the reach of words.
Aldo Leopold (ecologist)
In my progress through the field of art I have sensed a gradual evolving of awareness and feeling, of concern and passion. There are so many aspects to our lives and the world where we are, so many causes and effects, the collective actions, the individual actions, the superficial and the deep.
Whilst standing in a forest in India thinking of tigers, the realisation that all the environmental and conservational efforts to preserve these magnificent creatures with clean water and preserved environment not only benefited tigers but also the local villagers and wider populations. Clean water — a vital need of all life — together with ecotourism brings a sense of independence to the peoples who live there, not just a handout from governments and multinationals. They can live their own lives in the manner to which they are accustomed. In today’s world, how important is this.
All my life I have been involved with animals and natural things, and have always enjoyed portraying them with drawings and doodles. My childhood in the English countryside, influences of artists as Sir Peter Scott at Slimbridge, Constable at Flatford Mill, study at field centres, on farms, and in veterinary practices, all created a natural interlink between animals, wildlife and art. My life has given me reasons to care, my work as a practising veterinary surgeon has given me knowledge of anatomy and form, and my fascination for wild places has given me opportunities to observe and experience the intricacies and interplay of natural things first hand.
My initial response was to put all this life experience together to paint pictures using the subjects of animals and wildlife. Now I am realising that I feel much more than that. - I am seeing the bigger picture!
The world in which we live is being abused and so much damage is being done to the environment. The biodiversity of the planet is being threatened, and both plants and animals are being destroyed at an ever increasing rate. I came across a T shirt the other day which simply stated that -
When the last river is poisoned and the fossil fuel burnt,
When the last tree is cut down and the last fish is caught,
Perhaps we will learn that we cannot eat money.
I now realise my aim is to continue learning and developing artistically, yet portraying the subjects of my paintings with a depth of feeling and compassion. To bring the character of the subject to the viewer - to try to engender in them the "joy of the elevated thoughts" I realise when I see the stare of the peregrine, the power of the Clydesdale, the delight of the child, or the tranquillity of the beach at sunset. To try to show the viewer that the world is there to understand and preserve, to help and protect. That we have a duty of care for future generations.
Learn to love what you have to care for
And learn to care for what you have to love.
I am inspired to paint by many things that I see and for many reasons - not just the object itself, but the fleeting expression, the flash of light, the spirit , the connection and flow of the experience. I am lucky enough to be able to travel in recent years, and have experienced so many diverse areas of the world. Traders in bazaars in Uzbekistan, orang-utans in rehabilitation centres in Malaysia, toucans in the forests of Costa Rica, moose in Canada, wildlife in wild areas of Africa, the timeless and vast space of the Australian outback, people everywhere. A wealth of experiences and subjects to express and share through my art.
