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Edward SperaEdward Spera   BA, AFC Edward Spera
Realistic paintings of subjects inspired from the wild
 
Daylight begins to erase the shadows on the Serengeti and Edward stirs from his tent. The sun is breaking the horizon and his attention is immediately drawn to two water buffalo on the edge of the camp. He reaches back into the tent to grab his camera. He steps forward towards the two enormous beasts that are a mere 40 ft away. These amazing creatures have the ability to impale a lion with their massive horns. He begins to crouch to establish better stability and angle for the shot. Light glistens off the grasses and the backlighting on the buffalos is perfect. Within seconds one of the buffalos raises his head, grunts and charges. In two large lunges it is almost on top of the helpless artist. To his fortune, as he falls backwards, the buffalo veers to the side and rushes by him. A vision of the under belly, of any animal, he will never forget. He soon found out how truly fortunate he really was.

A self-taught artist, who has never taken a class or opened an art textbook, Edward's work, in acrylic paint, has been compared to and rated alongside well-known international wildlife artists. So realistic in their detail are his paintings that they can easily be mistaken for photographs. Edward jokes that his claim to fame is as "the tallest wildlife artist in the world"; he's 6' 8". It was his wife, Lisa, who sparked his interest in art. She saw him doodling on a napkin, recognized his special talent and encouraged him to pursue his gift. Edward's artistic career began one Saturday afternoon in 1994, when he created his first piece (he still has the original) after watching a documentary on wolves. The feedback and encouragement from his wife, family and friends convinced him to pursue his newfound passion. In 1996, Edward became a full-time wildlife artist.

He has always worked with acrylic paints and continually strives to achieve the extra detail that brings his work to life. Edward's paintings reflect his experiences and memories of nature. The creative process begins with an encounter, perhaps only a brief sighting or a glimpse, but enough to fuel his inspirations. From the initial experience, the composition embedded in his mind's eye, Edward re-creates the memories with the help of the many reference photos he has taken on location. The final piece truly is a part of him. Extensive adventures through Africa, China, Tibet, India, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, North, Central and South America have greatly influenced his range of subject matter.

Some fact and figures about Edward's work: total number of original paintings in the last 12 years is approximately 300. The total number of wildlife species he has painted (a question no one has asked him before) is easily a 100 or more.

Edward's top 5 wildlife experiences (in no particular order):

· Finding himself amongst a group of 33 mountain gorillas in Central Africa
· 20 feet away from a Bengal tiger in India
· Waking up 30 feet away from a sleeping grizzly in Alaska
· Seeing a female panda with her baby in China, which is rare to see in the wild
· A 20-foot female great white shark biting the corner of, and shaking, the diving cage he and Lisa were in during a diving excursion in South Africa

Future adventures for Edward and Lisa include going to Russia to see Siberian tigers, travel through countries such as Australia and New Zealand and back to Africa for Leopards and African Wild Dogs. Other exciting developments will include creating works of aquatic life such as dolphins, sea turtles and Great White Sharks inspired from their many marine adventures.

 
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Direct Correspondence to:Edward Spera
 
Edward Spera
c/o Edward Spera Gallery
114 Queen St. P.O. Box 1405
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
Canada L0S 1J0
Tel: 905-468-7447
   Artists for Conservation Group
Email: speraart@vaxxine.com
Home Page: http://www.speraart.ca
Edward Spera Edward Spera

 
All rights reserved. All images and text © Copyright 2024 Edward Spera - Member of the Artists for Conservation Foundation (Formerly the Worldwide Nature Artists Group) www.natureartists.com. This site represents the original artwork
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Use of nature art, wildlife art or any other images or text from this site, requires permission in writing from Edward Spera (Edward Spera Gallery).

This site is part of the Artists for Conservation (AFC) Web site. (Wildlife Art - Nature Art - Conservation) Artists for Conservation is an international, non-profit organization dedicated to nature art, wildlife art and conservation. On this site you will find world-class nature art and wildlife art by today's leading nature artists & wildlife artists. The AFC site is the Web's premier location for nature art, wildlife artists All content appearing in pages featuring Edward Spera is the sole responsibility of Edward Spera. The opinions expressed on these artists' pages are those of Edward Spera and do not necessarily reflect those of the Artists for Conservation Foundationi (AFC).