Old Adobe White Winged Doves

Old Adobe White Winged Doves - 8-1/2 x 11-1/4; Offset Paper; Edition Size 950; $75.00 U.S. "We visited this old fort and monastery in the Big Bend country of Texas on a birding expedition a few years ago. These old Spanish buildings of the Southwest combine elegance and earthiness in a way I find very satisfying. Built of adobe and other local materials that the Pueblo Indians have used for thousands of years, they are classically balanced, harmonious, and restrained. New buildings don’t often appeal to me as subjects, but I enjoy painting older ones, which have become weathered and worn in ways that tell each building’s story. Here, for instance, you can see at the top of the door a place where a leak in the roof may have been patched years ago. Doves, which are thought of as peaceful and rather domestic birds, seemed to me appropriate for this setting. These white-winged doves are typical of this countryside around the Mexican border. I wanted this painting to be essentially a series of flat planes viewed from different distances and different angles. Apart from the one low wall, I wasn’t showing the tops and bottoms of the planes, and I had to give the viewer the information needed to understand what they are, by conveying texture and light. One of the solutions was to recreate a spider’s web pattern of cracks in the adobe, which then is foreshortened when seen from an angle." Robert Bateman

Biography

Robert Bateman has been called the most famous living artist. He continues to paint and tour the world to promote conservation and preservation of nature. We have represented Robert Bateman for decades and are now the sole publisher and distributor of his reproductions. We are so honored to work with him and witness his success. He has made such a massive contribution to the art world and the natural world as an artist and educator of the earth’s most important resources. Nature as a subject is becoming more and more popular as our environment is in peril. What better subject is there than the beautiful creatures we share this world with? Robert Bateman’s appreciation and understanding of nature are apparent in his paintings. He is able to paint flora and fauna the way your eye would perceive it in real life. It is important that the animal takes full attention. The background becomes muted, and therefore it doesn’t take too much focus away from the subject. His paintings seem effortless and masterful all at once. Bateman’s eye for composition is unparalleled. Each painting is a composed like a symphony, leading the eye to wander. From the backyards of North America to the sprawling plains of Africa. Robert Bateman captures nature the way it should be enjoyed. Above all he is a champion of wildlife. For this reason he has become a household name for art collectors.