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I have been a birder for as long as I can remember, with my first birding journal dating back to when I was seven. I have kept up the journal habit ever since then, though my sketchbooks and diaries now also feature all manner of wildlife as well as people and places. My paintings are rooted in field observation; where possible I like to complete as much of a painting as I can while the subject is still in view, usually starting with a pencil sketch directly onto canvas board and then working rapidly with acrylics. Often the work will be finished off with oils on the same day at home. Although I mainly paint birds, I am increasing drawn to large mammals seen on foreign trips and butterflies encountered on my local patch. As well as being a signatory member of AFC I am a friend of the Society of Wildlife Artists (SWLA) and have exhibited with them at the Mall Galleries in London. I am represented by the BIRDscapes Gallery near Holt in Norfolk.
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Support for Conservation:
As a birder I am an active member of the British Trust for Ornithology. As well as gathering data from my Breeding Bird Survey square every spring for the last 20 years, I have carried out surveys for wintering plovers, woodcock, nightingales, tawny owls, peregrine falcons, woodland birds and beached seabirds. I have also spent a lot of time over the years helping with species counts at various bird observatories in the UK and Ireland, as well as a spell as a volunteer warden at Titchwell bird reserve in Norfolk. I am a member of Norfolk Wildlife Trust, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Butterfly Conservation.
As a teacher I organise major conservation-based expeditions every two years, with destinations so far including Iceland (four expeditions), the French Alps, Morocco, the Peruvian Amazon, South Africa, Sulawesi and Madagascar. I am currently planning a 2019 expedition to Dominica. Many of these trips are in collaboration with Operation Wallacea, and the 30-40 girls I take each time gather conservation data which is used directly in University research. During several years spent in Ireland I was the editor of the annual Cork Bird Report, and some of my other activities in recent years include making and erecting nestboxes in a local woodland (specifically for Spotted Flycatchers, a red-listed species in the UK), creating a wildflower meadow for bees and butterflies in my home town and running wildlife-sketching workshops to raise money for the Norfolk Wildlife Trust.
As well as supporting environmental causes through the AFC website I donate artworks for auction as part of the 'Sketch for Survival' programme, and painted six of the panels in the 'Silent Skies' mural.
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All rights reserved. All images and text © Copyright 2024 Russ Heselden - Member of the Artists for Conservation Foundation (Formerly
the Worldwide Nature Artists Group) www.natureartists.com.
This site represents the original artwork (nature art and wildlife art) of nature
artist and wildlife artist of Russ Heselden and is protected by international copyright laws. Use
of nature art, wildlife art or any other images or text from this site, requires
permission in writing from Russ Heselden (Russ Heselden Wildlife Art).
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 Russ Heselden is the sole responsibility of Russ Heselden. The opinions expressed on these artists' pages are those of Russ Heselden and do not necessarily reflect those of the Artists for Conservation
Foundationi (AFC).
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