This Painter Clearly Knows Her Birds

Rose Tanner’s Instagram handle, @birdartartist, says it all. A bird enthusiast, she captures their great variety in striking colors. “My work is about those moments in nature that show the story, emotion or character of a bird,​” she explains on her website. “Watching birds in the wild has taught me absolute respect for the diversity on this planet.”

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"Caw" Oil on Linen 16 x 20

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An award-winning artist, Tanner has mastered the art of oil painting, capturing their features in great detail (though she like to believe that it’s her attention to the birds’ inner beings that gives the painting its lifelike quality). 

Through her oil paintings, Tanner hopes to spread her love of birds, inspiring viewers to spend more time outdoors. “My goal is for the viewer to connect with the playful, human side of birds,” she relayed in a piece she wrote for Artsy Shark, “to see into their eyes and realize there is so much more than expected.”

“Birds sing, dance, fight, court, breed and fly,” she writes. “They claim territory, pair for life, play the field and fool around. They hold funerals, have socials, eat fermented berries and perform mating rituals that leave us baffled. The subject matter is endless!”

This richness also comes through her Instagram page, which we recommend you follow.

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Not my usual subject but fun to paint.

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