Mary Cornish, The Rainmaker, oil on Belgian linen on aluminum composite produced by Artefex, 16 x 20"

This year’s exhibition also includes 2024 Master Wildlife Artist Gunnar Tryggmo, 23 artists who were named Master Artists during previous Birds in Art exhibitions, as well as 83 artists whose work was selected by a three-person jury. In total, more than 600 artists submitted over 1,000 works for consideration for the 2024 event.

Matt D. Patterson, Roseate Spoonbill, acrylic on Strathmore vellum art board, 28 x 35"

Matt D. Patterson’s artwork in the upcoming show is an acrylic painting of a vibrant roseate spoonbill stretching its coral-colored wings. “My love for wildlife has given me the opportunity to travel all over to see and learn about my subjects in the wild. This is a really important part of my painting process, to see them in their native habitats, observe them, show them as individuals and bring them to life,” says Patterson. “I’ve always found birds to be fascinating animals with what seems to be an endless variety. They can be found in every habitat from the poles, to tropical rainforests, to even deserts, and they are ancient animals going back to the dinosaurs. My main focus is on reptiles and particularly turtles but I created this painting, Roseate Spoonbill, after a trip to Florida a few years ago with my wife. We saw a spoonbill in the wild, and after seeing this unique bird with its long, graceful neck, colorful bald head, spoon shaped bill and beautiful feathers adorned in pink, I was inspired to paint one.”

Shalese Sands, Strut Your Stuff, scratchboard, 11 x 14"

A realist painter, Mary Cornish has always been attracted to the unique and unexpected. Her painting, The Rainmaker, portrays a female southern ground hornbill, which has a brilliant violet-blue throat patch. While beauty is in the eye of the beholder, one can’t deny that the southern ground hornbill (a native of Africa) is an odd looking bird. “When I first started painting ‘ugly birds,’ the challenge was to make them as beautiful as I possibly could,” says Cornish. “What I did not expect from this journey was how captivating and challenging it would be to portray these beautiful, ugly hornbills, vultures [and] condors, as well as many other bird species… I think that one reason my art is so appealing and convincing is that most people never have the opportunity to see these creatures up close, with their magnificent colors, textures and expressions. I strive to provide that opportunity for the viewer, while still presenting a painting challenge to myself as an artist.”

Katie Musolff, Spare Parts, watercolor and gouache on Arches paper.

For scratchboard artist Shalese Sands, inspiration is always abundant. “There is so much variety in the bird world, and I love seeing and photographing all of it,” she says. Strut Your Stuff depicts a ruffed grouse that Sands photographed in northern Minnesota a few years prior. “This was the first time I’ve ever created a ruffed grouse, one of the reasons being their feather markings are so complex,” says the artist. “Add in the fact that scratchboard is already tedious as is, and I really questioned my sanity as to whether I’d be able to pull off this project in the month or so before the deadline. However, it was worth all the extra effort to create a piece that I feel exemplifies my abilities as a scratchboard artist. This exhibition is one in which you want to put your best foot forward and truly create something worthy of the space it will be in, if you happen to be fortunate to have the honor.”