Birds and Light [Anglais] [Relié]

Whatever was Sweden's Royal Academy of Fine Arts thinking when it rejected Jonsson's application for admission in 1972? The academy's loss was the bird-watcher's gain, for as this retrospective of the 50-year-old artist's career displays, Jonsson turned straightaway to illustrating field guides, since combined for the American market as Birds of Europe with North Africa and the Middle East (1993). Images from this utilitarian period, combined with an interview with Jonsson, parse his technique and, more revealingly, his mental approach to painting birds, which are reclusive by nature. Usually working outdoors, he attempts to "dissolve" his mind in the subject and its surroundings. Perhaps he absorbs a bird's natural alertness, for his melding with his subject promotes a characteristic aesthetic to his oil paintings: sharply focused detail around the bird's eyes eliding subtly to evocative mist, slush, water, or forest litter. Regularly exhibited in Europe and North America, Jonsson is immensely popular with the ornithologically inclined, who will be delighted with this beautiful catalog of his work. Gilbert Taylor
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Combinations of soft, fluid pencil strokes tinted with vibrant and precise splashes of color glide and flutter across the pages.

The book is lushly and generously illustrated throughout, and the full-page sketchbook studies are particularly breathtaking. Lyrical combinations of soft, fluid pencil strokes tinted with vibrant and precise splashes of color glide and flutter across the pages. While art historians may debate the importance of Jonsson's paintings, they are undeniably beautiful.

Lars Jonsson is widely considered the greatest nature artist of his generation. His beautiful and inspirational artwork depicting birds and other wildlife has been appearing in print for more than thirty years, and his original paintings are sought after by collectors. This lavishly illustrated and elegantly written book describes his life and work through stunning examples of his art and through his own words.

Part autobiography and part exploration of technical method, Birds and Light is an extraordinary and authoritative retrospective of Jonsson's career. It is also a celebration of birds, wildlife, and wild places.

Jonsson talks of a life's work studying and capturing the relationship between birds and light. Superbly reproduced artwork appears throughout the book, including pages from Jonsson's earliest sketchbooks, finished plates from his field guides, and some of the artist's majestic full-scale canvases, presented at various stages of development. Jonsson discusses the artistic process, from the importance of sketching from life, to the discipline of painting for field guides and the ability to express subtlety of environment and atmosphere in paint.

No other artist captures the "feel" of a bird so perfectly. Jonsson's exceptionally accurate and expressive style reflects a combination of talent and countless hours in the field. His career as a premier bird artist, and as a globally renowned ornithologist, was first consolidated in the 1970s with his series of enormously popular pocket guides to European birds grouped by habitat, which broke new ground with its remarkable illustrations. His field guide Birds of Europe, published in 1992, exquisitely demonstrated his ability to depict with great accuracy the detail of plumage and posture that enables birders to distinguish between similar species.

Jonsson's thoughts on wildlife artistry, and his engaging account of his own career, make Birds and Light a fascinating read for all those interested in birds, birdwatching, and bird art. And the sumptuous illustrations, many published here for the first time, make this magnificent book something to be treasured forever.

Lars Jonsson has published several books, including "Bird Island" and "Birds of Europe with North Africa and the Middle East" (Princeton, 1992). His work is exhibited widely throughout North America and Europe.