Wildife Artist of the Year 2026 - Winners

I've now got all the names of those who won their categories - plus, of course, the overall winner and the runner up (which I did know).

• All quotations come from the Wildlife Artist of the Year and/or website unless otherwise stated.
• I'm assuming the description of the art is by the artist (until anybody tells me otherwise)
• I'm going to use the text provided to me by the David Shepherd Foundation as to the Judges' reasons why an artwork won an award
• Plus some of the pics come from the dswfwildart Instagram account
• the rest are my pics.

The judging panel is made up of art professionals, artists and conservationists.

Note: I only do this for long-running and prestigious art competitions which attract an international entry! That's because not everybody can get to the exhibition.

For my review of the exhibition see Another Excellent "Wildlife Artist of the Year" Exhibition (2026)

For my photos of the exhibition see an album on my Facebook Page - Wildlife Artist of the Year 2026

Overall Winner of "Wildlife Artist of the Year"

Stefano Zagaglia - Evanescence the Biggest

This brings a

• £5,000 cash prize,
• the official title, and
• a £5,000 conservation donation made in the winner's name.

WINNER OF WILDLIFE ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2026
Evanescence - The Biggest
oil on canvas, 100cm x 100cm
Stefano Zagaglia

The Label in the exhibition states

The elephant slowly emerges from the white, a powerful yet fragile presence. Only a portion of Its body is visible, while the rest dissolves in the light, suggesting a presence that might vanish. The tusks, a symbol of its strength and its doom, become the focus of the gaze. A reminder of how great and majestic this species is, but also how vulnerable it is to human actions.

This was the Judges comment

"A winning artwork isn’t always the loudest. Sometimes it is the one you cannot stop looking at, and in that context the artist of this beautiful piece has presented the Elephant, our largest living land mammal whose quiet strength never needs to shout. Stefano has brilliantly embraced the subject, most importantly the category and this competition in all its glory."
- WAY 2026 Judge

About the Artist

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by David Shepherd Wildlife Art (@dswfwildlifeart) 

Stefano Zagaglia's website says nothing about him except why he paints wildlife.  However 

• his Facebook Page indicates he lives in Milan where he expresses himself more fully about what the prize means to him
• it did have this statement about "Evanescence"

The paint remains on the canvas as if struggling.

As if no longer certain it can remain.

It thins, surrenders to the light.

And the bodies of the animals approach the edges, dissolve.

As if suspended — between appearing and disappearing.

It’s a moment.

The moment before the end.

And perhaps, also,a last gesture.

A last attempt to hold them back.

Before they vanish completely.

Overall Runner Up 

Prizes are

• £1,000 cash prize and
• a £1,000 conservation donation made in the runner-up's name.

Alberto Duvivier Tembo - Extincts

Another Excellent "Wildlife Artist of the Year" Exhibition (2026)

I've attended - and reviewed - many Wildlife Artist of the Year (WAY) exhibitions, organised by the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation and held  at the Mall Galleries each year. 

There's lots to read below of interest to all aspiring and established wildlife artists.

• Why visit this exhibition
• Note for aspiring and participating artists
• How to view the exhibition - in person and online
• Some facts about the exhibition
• How to view the exhibition - including links to my past reviews of this exhibition going back to 2008

TOMORROW I'm publishing a post about the Category winners.

Feature Wall in WAY 2026

However I deliberately missed the PV on Tuesday and visited on Wednesday. I found out from those who were there that it was, as I expected, absolutely packed out with people who love wildlife and wildlife art and were keen to buy good art - and it was very hot! Which is why I tend to duck PVs these days as my internal thermostat is out of whack at the moment.

The view from the stairs - lots and lots of visitors

When I got there on Wednesday morning, apart from an awful lot of red dots, I also saw an awful lot of people who were studying the artwork with enthusiasm. 

As well they might as there was lots of excellent artwork to look at.

I took a lot of photos - of all the artwork - and have uploaded most of these to an album on my Facebook Page - Wildlife Artist of the Year 2026

Below is a review of the exhibition

If I can work out the category winners I'll do another post about those. (If somebody at DSWF can send me the details that would be much appreciated. I'd assumed they'd be on the website.)

Why visit this exhibition?

The end wall
- it took a long time for me to get a clear view of this
because of the number of visitors!

For me, what is unique about this exhibition is that very many of the wildlife artists selected for the exhibition tend to be those who have "gone the extra mile" in terms of capturing innate characteristics of their subject 

Cat Crawl 

Pastel, 47cm x 40cm

Lisa Gleim AAPLF, AFC, ASMA, AWAM, CGA, IAPS/MC, PSA, SAA, SPSM

This one for example, positively jumped off the wall at me, given the acute observation of primal cat behaviour when it comes to hunting - as every domestic cat owner will recognise. That and the fact I love pastel artwork!

and/or finding a new way to convey the essence of their subject.

Three oil paintings by Stefano Zagaglia
Winner of WAY 2026
(the winning painting is on the right)
Scale: all the paintings are 100 cm x 100 cm
note the plugs bottom left for scale

I think I probably see more innovation and novel ways of representing subject matter at this exhibition than any other. It just happens to be wildlife.

Winners at Wildlife Artist of the Year 2025

The Winner of Wildlife Artist of the Year 2025
Nicole Kolekova "Beloved"

The annual exhibition of the Wildlife Artist of the Year 2025 at the Mall Galleries had the most frightful luck this year.

• on the first four days there was a tube strike - which realistically meant the only visitors were those on trains into Charing Cross or Victoria or those who could get there by bus or bike.
• then on the Saturday, two marches (one of them absolutely enormous) were very close to The Mall - one of them being kettled on Whitehall.

There was no way I was going to go into town to see the exhibition because I'd have had to cross the route of at least one if not both marches. Plus I always make a point of never ever going into town on big march days as you never know how it might "kick off".

It's especially sad since entry income and 50% of the proceeds from all artwork sales support DSWF and their field partners

So by way of recompense to the artists, this is my post about those who won their categories and who was Highly Commended.

• You can SEE all the images of the Winners on the website. 
• Click to see the Gallery of the Highly Commended
• Scroll down to see all the other entries 

SEE ALSO my previous post Wildlife Artist of the Year 2025 - now online

Wildlife Artist of the Year 2025

The Overall Winner of the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation's 2025 Wildlife Artist of the Year is Nicole Kolekova for her piece "Beloved". 

Winner of the Wildlife Artist of the Year Award 2025
Beloved 
a clay sculpture by Nicole Koleko

Nicole said this about her work

The most powerful love is maternal love and it would be difficult to find in nature a symbol as strong as a monkey mother who loves her child so much, that she cannot accept the reality long after her loss... 

As a child, I watched a documentary about a group of monkeys living happily in a city. One day, the group was attacked by a rival family of monkeys. The attack was loud and full of bites, but it didn’t last long. Both groups scattered and disappeared. The battlefield was silent, except for a small body lying in the middle. Motionless, in the middle of a stone path, its face turned to the ground. It was a painful sight, but you often saw it in documentaries, often children died. Suddenly, a mother ran to her, started wailing, and took her child in her arms. Then the narrator spoke: “Mother monkeys feel such great love for their young that they cannot accept the loss of them, even after their death. They hug their dead child for weeks after death and carry it with them and take care of it...” 

This moment was so powerful for me that it lives in my thoughts to this day and touches me…

The David Shepherd website says this about the work

This year’s overall prize went to Slovakian artist Nicole Koleková for her ceramic sculpture Beloved. The piece depicts a monkey mother unable to let go of her lost child, a heart-wrenching meditation on maternal love, grief, and the fragility of life in the natural world. Created using the rare technique of wood kiln-fired ceramics, each sculpture bears the unpredictable marks of fire and ash, echoing the wild essence of the subject itself. Nicole’s work, rooted in raw emotion and technical mastery, moved judges and audiences alike. 

Runner Up

RUNNER UP
Waiting on the World to Change
Matthew Polluk

London-based artist and wildlife fan Matthew Polluk was the overall runner-up.

From an exceptional field of entries, we are thrilled to announce the Overall Runner-Up for Wildlife Artist of the Year 2025.

Congratulations to Matthew Polluk for a work that stood out for its impact, artistry, and resonance.

The David Shepherd website characterised Matthew Polluk as follows

Matthew Polluk is self taught artist who has carried his childhood passion for animals and the natural world into the fervent creation of wildlife art that he is recognised for today. He holds a strong passion for giving back to the natural world that inspires his art and uses his art to raise awareness for wildlife conservation. His paintings are often characterised by his use of a minimal colour palette - typically black, white and gold - and his use of metallic paints and precious materials, such as 24ct pure gold leaf, has become a trademark feature in his wildlife art.

Category and Special Award Winners

Links in the names of the prizewinners are to their websites or Instagram sites.

The text comes from this webpage celebrating the award winners where you can see large images of their artwork

Michelle Lee Howk First Time Entrants Award

• Gentle Little Baza by Aniruddha Gupte

The Black Baza, a striking raptor from southern India, is both elusive and ecologically significant. In his delicate watercolour, Mumbai-based artist Aniruddha Gupte celebrates this bio-indicator species, working with handmade paper and embracing the unpredictable qualities of the medium. A designer by training, Aniruddha only began painting wildlife in 2021, but his sensitivity and skill have already made a mark.

Elizabeth Hosking Watercolour Award

• Boys of Lolldaiga by Julia Cassels

Inspired by young elephants play-fighting on a dusty dam wall, Julia Cassels’ watercolour bursts with energy and movement. Having spent many years in Africa before returning to the UK, Julia’s art is alive with the sounds, scents, and rhythms of the wild. Her work not only captures wildlife but also raises awareness for conservation, connecting audiences to the places and creatures she loves most.

The Painters Online Award

• The Undertaker by Andrew Pledge

Marabou storks may not fit traditional ideas of beauty, but Andrew Pledge challenges us to see them differently. In The Undertaker, he celebrates their adaptability and ecological importance, reminding us that even “unattractive” species play vital roles. Andrew’s award-winning work focuses on overlooked birds, encouraging us to find wonder in unexpected places.

Youth Exclusive

• How to Crawl While Stuck in the Darkness by Sunghyun Chun 

At just 17 years old, South Korean student Sunghyun Chun impressed judges with his intricate pencil drawing of a snake emerging from darkness. A newcomer to art, he was initially inspired by manga, and Sunghyun is now pursuing his dream of studying at an art college in England. His work demonstrates how new generations are embracing wildlife art with originality and dedication.

Wings

• Strike a Pose by Emma Swift

The Southern Ground Hornbill is a bird full of charisma, with its striking plumage, resonant call, and proud strut across African grasslands. Emma Swift’s oil painting captures this bold personality with vivid colours and confident brushstrokes. An award-winning artist, Emma has been shortlisted for Wildlife Artist of the Year seven times. Her work underscores the interconnectedness of wildlife and environment, reminding us that every species has a role to play.

Into the Blue

• First Dance by Sarah Jackson

Made from recycled magazines, First Dance flows with the rhythm of the sea, celebrating the harmony of marine life. Sarah Jackson’s innovative use of collage and ink mirrors the ocean’s currents, transforming discarded material into textured, painterly compositions. Growing up on the Cornish coast, Sarah’s practice is deeply rooted in sustainability, proving that beauty and renewal can emerge from the everyday.

You''ll also find her work via Google in several art galleries.

Facing Extinction

• 96 Elephants a Day – The Daily Poaching Rate in Africa by Holly Budge

Every day, an estimated 96 elephants are killed for ivory in Africa. Holly Budge transforms this devastating statistic into wearable art: a necklace made from vegetable ivory, with one elephant turned in the opposite direction to symbolise hope. As founder of the NGO How Many Elephants and World Female Ranger Week, Holly combines adventure, activism, and design to amplify conservation causes. Her work has been praised by Sir David Attenborough for its ingenuity and impact.

Environmental Artivism

• In the Compass of the Oceans by Derek Robertson

Orcas are majestic apex predators, but also indicators of ocean health. Derek Robertson’s mixed-media piece highlights their vulnerability to overfishing, climate change, pollution, and plastic waste. With a career spanning 35 years, Derek is internationally recognised, with works held in collections from the Tate Gallery to the Royal Family. His art often bridges science and storytelling, collaborating with conservationists to bring urgent ecological narratives to life.

Earth’s Wild Beauty

• Iguazu Falls by Hazel McNab

Standing between Argentina and Brazil, Iguazu Falls is one of the natural world’s most awe-inspiring sights. Hazel McNab’s linocut captures the delicate balance between fragility and force, with a slender tree holding its own against a backdrop of roaring water. Working in reduction linocut, Hazel layers colour and texture with precision, producing scenes infused with both movement and stillness. Her Cornish-based practice often celebrates coastal landscapes, but here she expands her gaze to a global wonder.

Animal Behaviour

• Into the Light by Phillip Allder

Few images are as powerful as a tiger carrying her cub. In Into the Light, Phillip Allder contrasts the ferocity of a top predator with the tenderness of motherhood, imbued with just a trace of threat. Based in the Lake District, Phillip is a wildlife and landscape artist whose career spans exhibitions in the UK and USA. His evocative style has earned him regular recognition in Wildlife Artist of the Year.

Abstract World

• A Dazzle of Zebra by Jonathan Truss (insecure website which takes a LONG time to open)

Zebra stripes are nature’s ultimate camouflage, confusing predators by merging into a dizzying pattern of black and white. Jonathan Truss captures this dazzling spectacle in his painting, placing viewers in the position of a lioness confronted with the impossible task of singling out her prey. A professional wildlife painter for 30 years, Jonathan has exhibited internationally and led art safaris across continents. His ability to blend science and spectacle continues to inspire.

You can find previous blog posts about the Wildlife Artist of the Year under this label in my Archive Wildlife Artist of the Year 

Wildlife Artist of the Year 2025 - now online

Next week the exhibitions for the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation | Wildlife Artist of the Year 2025 open at the Mall Galleries on 9th September and continues for 5 days until the 13th September. (more details at end)

The exhibition offers a rich and varied display, featuring everything from bold oil paintings and intricate pencil drawings to eco-conscious sculptures and inventive mixed-media creations, all inspired by the beauty and fragility of the natural world. DSWF website

The Wildlife Artist of the Year 2025 exhibition features all the artworks selected across the nine competition categories. In the view of the competition judges, these represent the very best from thousands of international submissions.

However, you can now see which entries for the Wildlife Artist of the Year 2025 were selected for exhibition.  

• this is the link to the online exhibition for WAY 2025 
• the competition is now open for the public to vote for their favourite artwork

Each year we ask the general public to vote for their favourite piece from Wildlife Artist of the Year. The winning artist receives our coveted DSWF People’s Choice Award AND each voter will be entered into a prize draw with the chance to win two tickets to the stunning black tie DSWF Wildlife Ball on Friday 7 November 2025 at The Dorchester in London, including a champagne reception, three course meal and entertainment. Please show your support for your favourite artwork by casting your vote. DSWF website

• you have the option to buy - however all pieces sold prior to the exhibition have to stay on display during the 2025 exhibition and delivery will be confirmed and arranged after September 15th, 2025.

50% or more of the proceeds go directly to DSWF’s conservation efforts. Every purchase helps to secure a better future for endangered species, communities living alongside them, and our future generations. DSWF website

There's also a wide range of events.

This annual exhibition is organised by the David Wildlife Foundation and has been going for years. It attracts top notch art from UK and international artists and a lot of collectors of wildlife art. If this is the sort of art that interests you, it's well worth a visit.

Event Details

• LOCATION: Mall Galleries, London SW1 - see Google Map
• DATE: 9–13 September 2025
• TIME: 10am – 5pm (Tuesday 11am – 3pm)
• ENTRY: Free – donations welcome in support of our conservation work

Sarah Lake wins Wildlife Artist of the Year 2024

Winner of Wildlife Artist of the Year 2024: Jara by Sarah Lake

This post is about the internationally renowned David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation's Wildlife Artist of the Year 2024 Exhibition at the Mall Galleries, which opened to the public today - and continues daily at the Mall Galleries (10am - 5pm) until 6th July. It provides:

• announcement of 
• the artwork winning the top prize
• the runner up
• plus all the category and other award winners
• comments on the Exhibition
• my photos of the exhibition - plus links to more images of the artwork - including all the Category Winners
• comments on pricing and sales

On Monday night, I attended a very impressive Private View for the Wildlife Artist of the Year Exhibition where the awards for each category and finally the winner of the Wildlife Artist of the Year were announced.

You can also review the artworks in the exhibition online at the Wildlife Artist of the Year 2024 Online Exhibition on the DSWF website.

Towards the end of the Private View last night,
when numbers had reduced enough to get a good view of the artwork in the gallery

Wildlife Artist of the Year 2024

Since its inception in 2008, DSWF Wildlife Artist of the Year has attracted more than 17,500 entries and through entry fees, exhibition sales, and sponsorships, has raised nearly £2 million for wildlife causes.

The Wildife Artist of the Year 2024 is Sarah Lake.

Winner of Wildlife Artist of the Year 2024 - Sarah Lake
Artwork: "Jara"
Papercut 77 x 80cm SOLD (£1,800)

Sarah Lake is a very impressive wildlife artist from Kent with a unique approach to creating her art. All her artworks are created by cutting paper with a surgical blade and layering to create the shapes and tonal values of an animal or bird. Her award winninf artwork is the picture of an elephant's trunk - with the end curled round. This is what it looks like close up.

Last night, she was won the Wildlife Artist of the Year Award and sold all her artwork in the show (two proper artworks and two postcards) and I think this prize has just raised the profile of her artwork and her career - and her medium of choice.

A macro view of the elephant's trunk created as a papercut artwork by Sarakh Lake

Last year she won the Wings Category with a picture of a pelican - and I commented at the time that I thought it was the best artwork in the show

Her work is based on photographs which she analyses to extract the different tonal values. She explains her practice on her website.

It's been her practice in the past to donate most of her art for auctions which raise funds for wildlife conservation.

Her £10,000 award is split between a £5,000 cash prize and a £5,000 donation to a conservation charity / project of her choice.

The Runner Up

The runner up was a sculpture called "Guardian of the Forest" by Aki Mimura

Wildlife Artist of the Tear: Runner Up

'Guardian of the Forest' (Abstract World) by Aki Mimura

Limestone on Sandstone base

25 × 14 × 18 cm 

This was entered in the abstract category because it's a very stylised version of a bird - which I think is an owl.

Aki Mimura is a Japanese sculptor who used to be a professional watch designer for 11 years and now lives in Italy and works in sculpture.

I continue with the winners of the various categories below

Wildlife Artist of the Year Exhibition 2024

DSWF Wildlife Artist of the Year 2024 has attracted entries from exceptionally talented amateur and professional artists all over the world.

This year the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF) is celebrating its 40th anniversary - and displayed a film last night which indicates the work it has been doing

The Judges for the Awards in 2024 were made up of

• conservationist: Melanie Shepherd, Chair of the DSWF Board of Trustees (and former CEO of the Foundation)
• artists: Hazel Soan and Gary Hodges, 
• artists: Mandy Shepherd and Emily Lamb (David Shepherd's grandaughters)
• wildlife photographer: William Fortescue
• gallery owner: Simon Trapnell (founder of Nature in Art)
• interior designers: Wendy Feess.
• PR and advertising experts: Karrie Goldberg (Founder of The Kagency and Outernet)

The Awards Ceremony was livestreamed on YouTube and can be seen in this video.  Apparently the set-up only took a couple of hours. I though it was a wonderful way of engaging with the international community who are all very enthusiastic about this competition - and send lots of entries!

You can also see my Facebook album of photos of 

• the winner AND all the category winners 
• lots of general views of the exhibition - and the rest of the artworks (in PV mode)!! 

Category Winners

The category winners are listed below. 

Cy Baker: solo exhibition of wildlife art

Cy Baker - winner of Wildlife Artist of the Year 2022
demonstrating his art in his solo exhibition of his artwork 
in the East Gallery of the Mall Galleries

There's no mention on the Mall Galleries website or the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation of the artwork being displayed by Cy Baker who won the Wildlife Artist of the Year Award in 2022 in the East Gallery of the Mall Galleries. 

It's even more odd given that when I visited on Tuesday, he had also sold all but one of his paintings and for not insignificant sums. 

Exhibition of paintings by Cy Baker - winner of Wildlife Artist of the Year 2022
in the East Gallery of the Mall Galleries

In fact, in terms of best selling wildlife art for significant sums this was where all the action was this week!

So below, is a short overview of Cy Baker and his artwork

This is a short video of how the exhibition came together at the Mall Galleries

You can see more of his solo exhibition at this link on his website.

Cy Baker - Wildlife Artist of the Year 2022.

Cy Baker was in the East Gallery, demonstrating how he creates his very effective paintings and I had a chance to talk with him and find out how he works and how he sells his paintings.

After winning David Shepherd’s Wildlife Foundations Wildlife Artist of the Year last year I chose to spend my winnings on visiting the project doing incredible work in Uganda. I was utterly blown away by the work being done to save these animals lives. All the work sold in this exhibition will have 50% of the sale money go directly to saving wildlife all over the globe.

His paintings

Cy Baker has been creating wildlife artwork on canvas using a biro and oil paint for c. 10 years.

• He first creates a gesso surface on the canvas incorporating a very weak solution of Titanium white to produce a light buff finish
• Then he uses a biro with lightfast ink to create a drawing on the canvas and a complete tonal pattern of his subject matter. He's stroking the biro onto the canvas and hatching where appropriate. It took some time to find a biro which worked well with canvas.
• He then uses weak solutions of Winsor and Newton Titanium White to enhance the 3D nature of his paintings. In effect he "cuts in" with the white after the drawing has been developed.

This video has Cy talking about he uses his biro to create the artwork and how he creates his compositions which are a very strong feature of his artwork

About Cy Baker

He studied scientific illustration at Southampton Institute and Blackpool and the Fylde College of Art in the 1990s after which he worked for about five years as a freelance illustrator. 

He then worked fulltime in Customer Services for 14 years before giving up his job in April 2015 to try and make it as a full time professional artist. 

He's succeeded in getting noticed, being selected for open/juried exhibitions and winning awards - and selling his artwork!

• Wildlife Artist of the Year: 
• Overall Winner – 2022, 
• Highly Commended – 2021, 
• Category Winner – 2019, 
• Finalist – 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2016, 2012
• Society of Graphic Fine Art: Dry Red Press Award – 2021
• Royal Society of Marine Artists – 2020
• Society of Wildlife Artists – 2019, 2013, 2011, 2006
• Marwell International Wildlife Art Society: 
• Best Bird in Exhibition – 2011
• Best in Exhibition – 2010
• Exmoor: Best in Exhibition – 2010 

How he sells his paintings

Cy has learned over the years how to sell artwork and how to make money (they're two different things!). He does not have a gallery and organises his own sales - and consequently has better control over his selling expenses.

• He attends a number of Art Fairs where he is now a regular exhibitor and where his artwork sells well
• He has a shop on this website where he sells original artwork, limited edition prints and open edition prints direct to customers
• He also works on commission and describes the process on his website

He's also providing different offers for different pockets - with 

• original artwork in different sizes
• limited edition prints
• open edition prints

Rather than having standard prices for specific sizes, he makes adjustments depending on the complexity of the work.

I'm a fan of his approach to creating consistent pricing and sales!

• He's progressed to his current prices over a number of years having found the market for his work and fans who love to buy his artwork. 
• He did NOT start out with a bang asking for a lot of money but rather found out prices worked in relation to generating consistent sales of his artwork. 
• He now raises his prices in small incremental changes over time. 

Like I said he's sold all but one painting within 24 hours of the exhibition opening. I think he's got it about right!

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You can find Cy Baker on his:

• Website https://cybaker.co.uk/
• Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/cybakerart (the banner is the piece which won him Wildlife Artist of the Year in 2022)
• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cy.baker/
• You Tube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@cybaker2367

Wildlife Artist of the Year 2023 Exhibition

This is about the David Shepherd Foundation's Wildlife Artist of the Year 2023 Exhibition at the Mall Galleries, which I visited on Tuesday. It provides:

• announcement of the artwork winning the top prize
• comments on the Exhibition
• my photos of the exhibition - plus links to more images of the artwork - including all the Category Winners
• comments on pricing and sales

Wildlife Artist of the Year 2023

"The Journey" by Karen Laurence-Row

(Abstract World category)

oil and gold leaf 113 x 113 cm framed

SOLD

The winner of Wildlife Artist of the Year 2023 Prize is Karen Laurence-Row for her oil and gold leaf painting titled "The Journey" (Abstract World category) 113 x 113 cm framed.

It's the story of a giraffe. It's much more abstract than most winners have been in the past. I can't tell you anything about it or why it was chosen as there's nothing on the website and, despite a request, I've not been emailed a press release.

Born in Uganda, daughter to a civil engineer, her family lived almost a nomadic existence, moving around East Africa to wherever a road or a bridge was needed. With no towns or cities around for hundreds of miles, Karen and her siblings would draw to entertain themselves. These memories of Africa’s virtually unspoiled landscapes, teeming with game and magnificent views, were to influence her subject matter as an artist in later years. (her website)

The Judges for the Awards in 2023 were made up of

• PR and advertising experts: Karrie Goldberg (Founder of The Kagency and Outernet)
• artists: Hazel Soan Gary Hodges, Mandy Shepherd and Emily Shepherd
• conservationists: Melanie Shepherd, Chair of the DSWF Board of Trustees
• gallery owners: Simon Trapnell (founder of Nature in Art)
• art expert / agent: Rita Alay Libera Del Curoto Askernasy (Founder of MT Art Agency)
• interior designers: Wendy Feess.

Category winners

The categories have been revised this year. They now include:

• Abstract World and 
• Environmental Activism.

The latter category was won by Ophelia Redpath the winner of the Landscape Artist of the Year 2021 with her painting Not in a Million Years. Below is my photo of her two stunning paintings and her habit of creating paintings with a story seems particularly apposite for this competition and the Environmental Activism category. She also won The Artist Editor's Choice Prize as well - so expect an article about Ophelia's wildlife paintings in an upcoming edition of The Artist

Two paintings in the Environmental Activism category
by Ophelia Redpath

As things stand at the moment there's no listing of the category winners on their website - but you can see them on my Facebook Page (see link below)

You can also see a solo exhibition by Cy Baker in the East Gallery. He won last year when the exhibition was online only. I'll be doing a blog post about him later this week and he also gets a mention below.

The Wildlife Artist of the Year Exhibition 2023

There has been no physical exhibition for three years so I was very pleased to see a very welcome and very impressive sight when I walked in to the Mall Galleries - and I commend this exhibition to all lovers of wildlife art.

Very sadly, as the exhibition has switched away from online only, we are left with a conundrum. The website now appears to be entirely focused on sales and is removing all sold images from view - so you cannot see the artwork which won the major prize and many others which have sold

[UPDATE: I've now found both the 2023 Exhibition Online and the Finalists Artwork - where you can vote for your favourite in the People's Choice Award]

You can also see my album of photos of the exhibition on my Facebook Page - where you can see the winner AND all the category winners!!

The DWSF Wildlife Artist of the Year Exhibition 2023 is on at the Mall Galleries 

• until 16th September - from 10am - 5pm every day. 
• Entrance is FREE. 
• There is an excellent catalogue available at the front desk 

DSWF Wildlife Artist of the Year is an internationally renowned wildlife art competition and exhibition, which each year attracts entries from some of the most talented artists around the globe, who come together to celebrate the beauty of the natural world.

The exhibition fills the West Gallery of the Mall galleries and looks simply splendid. Observations I noted during my visit include:

Wildlife Artist of the Year won by Cy Baker

This year's open competitions for the Wildlife Artist of the Year - sponsored by the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation and BBC Wildlife attracted a total of 1,654 artworks from 850 artists in 55 countries.

The competition amongst wildlife artists from all over the world was won by Cy Baker - about which there's more below!

Wildlife Artist of the Year was established in 2008 by David Shepherd CBE FRSA (1931 – 2017) and embodies his vision for ‘The Art of Survival’ i.e. using art for wildlife conservation. It's now co-sponsored by BBC Wildlife who used to also run a (separate) Wildlife Artist of the Year competition. It used to be very confusing at times!

Below you can find out more about the exhibition and how to see it - and who won the awards and prizes.

That's a decrease across all three categories: No. of artworks, no. of artists and no. of countries - compared to 2021. That said, it's comparable with 2020. Both exhibitions during the Pandemic were online only. The Online Exhibition 2022

Those selected for exhibition - and awards - were identified last week.

As somebody who has followed this exhibition every year and visited the Annual Exhibition at the Mall Galleries since 2008, I feel very, very sad this year that the exhibition this year is an ONLINE GALLERY ONLY EXHIBITION and I can't see the artwork 'up close and personal'. 

It's such a shame as we come out of the worst of the pandemic that we're not seeing this art competition returning to a proper art exhibition in a gallery - as is now happening with other regular art exhibitions at a national level.

I'm hearing from various organisations that they can no longer afford to exhibit at the Mall Galleries. The thing about managing a business is you can't price yourself out of the market - and you need prestigious exhibitions like this one to remain a gallery that people want to exhibit at.

The 2022 entries are grouped in galleries according to different categories which are 

Call for Entries: Wildlife Artist of the Year 2022

If you're a wildlife artist and want to raise your profile you should consider entering the Wildlife Artist of the Year Competition - sponsored by the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation is association with BBC Wildlife. The deadline for entries is 11.59pm (UK time) on the 31st March 2022.

Last year the DSWF's Wildlife Artist of the Year competition broke records with 

• entries from 1,199 talented artists 
• from 70 countries 
• who submitted a total of 2,307 pieces.

This post is about:

• the prizes
• who can enter
• what to enter - in the different categories
• how to enter and the deadline

I've previously written about this competition - when it was exhibiting at the Mall Galleries - and you can read my past posts about the exhibitions at the end .

Prizes

DSWF has introduced a new emerging artist award for 2022 which celebrates first time entrants.

Prizes include 

• Overall winner and Wildlife Artist of the Year: £10,000 (including a £5,000 conservation donation to a DSWF project of the winner’s choice), 
• Runner-Up: £2,000 (including a £1,000 conservation donation to a DSWF project of the winner’s choice). 
• Each of the category winners and the winner of the newcomer award will receive £500.

The Exhibition

You should note that in 2022 - as in recent years - the exhibition is virtual and artwork can no longer be seen in person.

The sale of all shortlisted artworks will be via the DSWF website (davidshepherd.org) and other virtual media. Accordingly the quality of the digital image will be critical to the selection of an entry

No allowance will be made for poor digital images, bad quality photographs or low resolution videos. 

This was the video introducing the 2021 virtual exhibition

 

How to enter

Categories

Entries must correspond to one of the seven categories described below.  Detailed descriptions of each category are available in the Terms and Conditions.

Wildlife Artist of the Year 2021

I have no idea how the Wildife Artist of the Year competition and exhibition passed me by.

Maybe it's because the David Shepherd Foundation have this year teamed up with the BBC Wildlife Magazine so what used to be two different art competitions is now one.

Anyway - the bottom line is you have just over one day left to view the artwork online

The virtual exhibition closes on 29th June 2021.

• You have to complete a form to get access to the exhibition
• they then send you a link

Alternatively you can view via the gallery for the Wilflife Artist of the Year 2021 on the David Shepherd website.

Wildlife Artist of the Year 2021:
“Orcas, Blackfish Sound”  by Darren Rees

 

You can also view the Prizewinners - images and story - on 

• The David Shepherd website in Wildlife Artist of the Year 2021 winners announced
• the BBC Wildlife Magazine website

 

some of the selected artworks in the online catalogue

 

Prizes

Overall winner sponsored by Neil & June Covey – £10,000*  

• “Orcas, Blackfish Sound” (acrylic painting) by Darren Rees
  

(The £10,000, consists of a £5,000 cash prize and £5,000 conservation voucher to be donated in the Wildlife Artist of the Year 2021’s name to a DSWF species of their choice.) 

“the gentleness of the orcas swimming by such a spectacular backdrop reminds us of the beauty of our planet and how vitally important both land and ocean are to our very survival”.  Melanie Shepherd

Overall Runner-up sponsored by Neil & June Covey – £2,000

UPDATE: Wildlife Artist of the Year 2020 - small works

For those wanting to support a cause but not necessarily spend a lot of money you can do as I do most years and spend £60 on a sketch produced for Wildlife Artist of the Year

This is the link to where you can see the Sketch for Wildlife Series 2020

Each postcard is 6”x 4” in size and on sale for £60 with 100% being donated to David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF).

It's an excellent way of raising funds - and getting artwork on display and names of artists known without and framing or the work taking up too much space. It's used by very many good causes as a way of buying art - and you often don't get to find out the artist until you've bought the piece (which is not the case this year - where the sale is taking place online

My postcard art purchases 

Below you can see my monochrome series of previous purchases.

I have three absolute rules for my small wildlife works purchases which are:

• they must literally be postcard size i.e. 6 x 4inches or 15 x 10cm (i.e. 148 x 105 mm) so they can be framed easily and inexpensively (and not all those in the sketches gallery this year are - which is a pity)
• there has to be some sort of thoughtful aesthetic to them - and to be honest the gallery this year is dominated by the very literal 
• I also require skill in the use of media - preferably monochrome - which means graphite, charcoal or pastel - or a monochromatic fine art print. 

The monochrome theme has grown over time and I now stick to it on the basis of if I want to hang them together in the future I'd like them to look good together - and I'm a fan of monochrome.

These are three I've bought in the past - framed in the little white standard art postcard box frames which I always used to buy from the National Portrait Gallery - which means they stand on their edge on a bookshelf.

• The top one is the shadow of a sting ray zooming through the picture plane - which I really liked because it conveyed the speed of movement as well as the way it swims. It's by Tim Reeves - whose website I cannot find online.
• Bottom left was my first - and is a graphite drawing of a worm cast - and I bought it because it is so unusual. I love artists who find beauty in the most unusual things. This is by somebody called Sara ? - but I can't work out her surname and she hasn't labelled it on signed on the back as well (see How to sign ​a painting, drawing or fine art print)
• Bottom right is At Dusk which depicts a very simple and subtle murmuration of starlings by Simon Conolly. This is a motif I see regularly at the Wildlife Artist of the Year exhibitions. Simon is actually a sculptor - who specialises in birds in flight and I'm guessing this may have started as a sketch for a new work. I was rather pleased to snaffle this one as a postcard. 

My post card sized art from previous Wildlife Artist of the Year exhibitions

The display of Postcard Art at Wildlife Artist of the Year 2015 at the Mall Galleries
- which is when I bought the piece by Simon Connolly
(third column from the right, third row down)

PS The Online Exhibition of Wildlife Artist of the Year 2020 is now public - for viewing.