We are delighted to welcome some new faces to Church Lane Gallery! This week, we introduce Jim Williams, a mixed media artist who creates incredible animal sculptures.
“As a child I was obsessed with art and the natural world. I loved to go to zoos, national parks and museums. I often thought I would become a naturalist or a palaeontologist (in fact I followed another passion, history, and became an archaeologist). As an archaeologist, and later as a surveyor, drawing is an important part of the work, creativity is not often involved (both professions would rather you didn’t make things up).
To scratch that artistic itch I started to make animal sculptures about eight years ago. Although I’ve made a lot of different animals over the years my current passion is birds of the world. Go bold and bright or go home I say, hence the interest in species like toucans and hornbills. I do quite a bit of research into rare, unusual and lesser known species and I hope my work will possibly provide some of the exposure they deserve."
Jim's animals are made from a mixture of materials, often recycled, including paper, paint, papier-mâché, wire and wood, creating a balance between the realistic, the stylistic and the decorative. You can view more of Jim's work here.