Monday, October 05, 2026

Review: 63rd Society of Wildlife Artists Annual Exhibition

The 63rd Annual Exhibition of the Society of Wildlife Artists is currently at the Mall Galleries

It's also the last exhibition of Harriet Mead as President of the SWLA, a role she has fulfilled extremely well for the last 17 years. She steps down at the AGM in November 2026.

Harriet Mead with six of her sculptures of wildlife
created from welded found metal
Five of which have already sold!

The exhibition also saw the launch of the SWLA's new book about its Massingham Heath Project which started in May 2025. The book is available to buy at the exhibition

The Massingham Heath Project will see over thirty of our member artists follow the seasons and changing flora, fauna and landscape of an exciting rewilding project in West Norfolk.
This is a review of this exhibition which continues until Saturday 10th October.

About the Exhibition


There are either 359 exhibits in the show which creates a good show on the walls without the exhibition seeming too overcrowded. 

There are a lot of birds in the East Gallery

Artwork includes oils, watercolours, acrylics, pastels, drawings, sculpture, original prints, mixed media and animation. 

Much of the sculpture is beyond competent and some is extremely spectacular such as the cranes in the East gallery (see above)

One aspect I particularly like about this show is there are so many excellent fine art prints (84 in total) which can be much more affordable - and sometimes smaller and easier to find a home for on your walls. These include Serigraphs, Etchings,Etching and monoprints, Etching and Aquatints, Linocuts and Reduction Linocuts, Lithographs, Collographs, Drypoints, Drypoint and chine colle, Monotypes, Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock), Mokulito (wood lithograph) and Screenprints

Some of the prints plus a snake

More prints

What distinguishes the artwork in this wildlife art show is that it is based on actual observation of the subject, rather than the conversion of a photograph into a drawing, print or painting. The selectors are always looking for the signs that an artwork is based on personal and real observation.

Harriet Mead drew my attention to a submission by a new artist on the end wall of the West Gallery. This is not normally an exhibition where you see big cats or tropical animals. Yet this was a painting of Tiger Cubs. As Harriet said to me, you could tell straight away that this was based on observation in real life. It turned out the painting was was by an Italian artist who had visited Vietnam and come across captive cubs.

Tiger Cubs by Francesco Calistri (Italy)
oil and acrylic on canvas


All the artworks are for sale and many of the artists can (and are) commissioned.

The trend I observed last year towards more smaller - and more affordable - medium and small size artwork seems to have continued - which I think is very sensible in the current economic context. 

Nearly 80% of the 72 artworks sold in the first five days are priced at less than £1,500 with most sales being for less than £1,000. This in part reflects changes in sizes of artwork.

You can see the artworks:
  • on the online website run by the Mall Galleries (in alphabetical order by surname of the artist)
  • in the albums of photos I upload about the artwork on the wall - as seen in each of these Gallery Albums on Facebook
 
The first wall you see when you enter the West Gallery

100 artworks are by artists selected from the open entry (I counted!) which is nearly 30% of the exhibition.

I've no idea how many people applied to be selected for the show or how many exhibits they submitted from the open entry - the catalogue does not say. I think it should. People like to know their chances of getting selected if it didn't happen this year.

Timing

This is an exhibition which always attracts lots of visitor and lots of buyers.

I think the Mall Galleries needs to have a VERY long hard think to the timing of this exhibition. Last year it was at the end of October/early November. This year it's following hot on the heals of the Wildlife Artist of the Year exhibition run by the David Shepherd Foundation which is always early September. 

There needs to be a MUCH bigger space between the two exhibitions. 

They are not the same type of wildlife art exhibition. SWLA is more UK oriented and less about rare big cats.

However the fact is that wildlife art fans appreciate a space between their consumption of gourmet delights. Otherwise the second exhibition - in this instance the SWLA -  suffers. Which given the Mall Galleries supports the FBA and hence the SWLA seems an odd thing to do.

I suggest a radical rethink about timing for next year to avoid cannibalizing buyers by the show which is held first.



SWLA 2026 Awards

The awards are noted on a page on the Mall Galleries website - where you can see both the artwork and what they won

The Birdwatch and Swarovski Optik Artist of the Year Award

The BIRDscapes Gallery 'Conservation through Art' Award

British Trust for Ornithology Award

Winner: Federico Gemma SWLA, Common Snipe

Daler-Rowney Award

The Head & Heart Award

and this was her reaction to winning the award - on her blog - SWLA's "The Natural Eye" at the Mall Galleries, London

(Note: I've been following the American artist and printmaker Sherrie York for years and years - maybe decades - but this is the first time I've seen her artwork in real life - which was a real pleasure! So here for Sherrie is a pic of her artwork on the wall with the Prize Badge)

Raing Days and Mondays by Sherrie York
Size: 15x30cm (20x45cm framed)

The Michael Harding Oil Painting Prize

The Rain Beetle by Jane Gardiner
oil on panel

Another long time friend Jane Gardiner, who when not being an artist is a GP in Glasgow, won this prize with wildlife we don't see much of - a Rain Beetle. I confess I'd never heard of one but when I looked I found out that adult rain beetles lack functioning mouthparts and are unable to feed. They rely on fat storage from when they were larvae and typically tend to spend many years in their larvae state!
Jane is not a wildlife artist per se. She just seems to love creating artwork out of subject matter which many people overlook. She's currently doing a lovely series of etchings about birds in flight.

The Michael Harding Watercolour Painting Prize

Kestrels and Eagle, Loch Katrine by Darren Rees SWLA
watercolour 55x35cm (75x55cm framed)
SOLD

Darren Rees wins lots of prizes. He was elected to the SWLA in 1985 and currently serves on the council. and has contributed to many SWLA projects. In the past, he was BBC Wildlife Artist of the Year 2009 and DSWF Wildlife Artist of the Year 2010.


RSPB Award

Winner: Darren Woodhead SWLA, Puffin pair exchanging nest material

both by Darren Woodhead SWLA

The winning painting is one the right of this photo - alongside another painting by Darren. Darren Woodhead MA (RCA), SWLA is a pure field painter based in East Lothian, Scotland. A Graduate of the Royal College of Art, he works direct in brush and watercolour. He also teaches and leads 

I always spend time looking at his paintings because I admire how he paints so much. I especially like his waxwings!

Art Safari Works on Paper Award

The Swarovski Optik New Artist Award

Mall Galleries / FBA Award

Trymwood Studios Art Prize

Sandra Fernandez is exhibiting two works, Gannets and Guillemots (Field sketch, St Abbs Head) and Guillemots (Field sketch, St Abbs Head).

Dry Red Press Award


SWLA Projects

The back of the North Gallery is always used to display some of the SWLA projects which take place during the course of the year. 

One of these is the The Natural Eye Bursary- where I found yet another friend! 

Gail Reid has started to develop artwork which tells stories and she now describes herself as an allegorical artist. Her Dungscape diptych plus concertina sketchbook is a preliminary to the Natural Eye Bursary 2026.

Connecting art, natural science, and conservation to showcase the ecological importance of healthy dung.

“Dungscape” draws on direct sketches from museum natural history collections (Bristol & London) and Knepp Estate rewilding project, to inform two large oil paintings. These landscapes demonstrate the wildlife community that thrives around dungpats in the absence of chemical pesticides and fertilizers.


My blog posts BELOW (some are longer than others) include images of artwork in the annual exhibitions:
Posted by Making A Mark on Monday, October 05, 2026
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