Dale Weiler - Member Profile

Society Of Animal Artists Member Profile

DALE WEILER

Signature Member

Stone Carver, USA

Dale Weiler describes himself as a sculptor of stone. He chose this medium because of the “feel of the stone” and the technical challenge of working with probably the most demanding and unforgiving medium of all art forms. The thought of creating movement, power, fluidity and suppleness from a piece of marble, sandstone, limestone, alabaster or steatite constantly drives him.

Dale began his art career at the age of 45, having honored his father’s wishes for him to pursue a more “financially rewarding” profession than the art world. Given the fact that his father (Milton C. Weiler) was a highly acclaimed and world renowned wildlife water colorist, the temptation to follow in his father’s footsteps was considerable. Dale avoided that temptation as long as possible, but the love for art and the need to express himself artistically ultimately became too great a force to resist, and he began to sculpt in 1992.

Dale has been in many prestigious shows including BIRDS IN ART Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum of Wausau and his work is in many private, corporate and museum collections including the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, Salisbury University

You can learn more about Dale and his art by visiting www.daweiler.com

LeRoy Neiman

LeRoy Neiman

(1921-2012)

Most people probably don't think of LeRoy Neiman as a wildlife artist, and for good reason.  He was much more.  But he did in fact paint wildlife.  In 2003, LeRoy Neiman had an exhibition at The Wildlife Experience in Denver based on the book of the same title: LeRoy Neiman: On Safari.  The exhibit was comprised of nearly seventy artworks inspired by a trip the artist made to Kenya in 1994.  Many of the exhibited works, including a new eight-foot high masterpiece of a Maasai warrior painted especially for the exhibit, and a 19-foot wide canvas of “the big five” painted in the African bush, were by Neiman from his private collection.

 

The Big Five

LeRoy Neiman passed away on June 20.  He was 91. For decades, he was the most recognized artist in America.  Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Neiman used the GI Bill to enroll at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he subsequently served as a member of its faculty from 1950 to 1960.  In 1963, the same year he held his first one-man show at Hammer Gallery in New York City, Neiman established a studio there, and never left.  Robust, with a persona that matched his art, LeRoy Neiman created a large body of distinctive, memorable, and for many, provocative artworks, that matched his often outrageous persona.     

“For me, the most impressive thing about Neiman's art, even more than his splashy, signature-style paintings and range of subjects and themes, has always been his incredible talent as a draftsman.  I’ve never met an artist who could draw what he observed better. As a painter, Neiman had the rare ability to use his talent to express extraordinarily creative ideas, and in the process, convey the character of his subjects.”~David Wagner

David J. Wagner, Dave Liniger,chairman of the board, RE/MAX International and founder of The Wildlife Experience Museum in Denver and Neiman at the exhibition opening for "On Safari" in 2003. Photo by Lynn Quayle

Wildlife Art Journal Editor, Todd Wilkinson interviewed David Wagner about LeRoy Neiman the day after the artist's death.  The interview can be read in its entirety here on the Wildlife Art Journal website (Click Here)


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Terry Miller-Member profile

Society Of Animal Artists Member Profile

Terry Miller

Signature Member

Graphite Pencil, USA

Terry Miller

During his years as a professional artist, Terry has garnered major awards and has had his work added to private and corporate collections both here and in Europe, toured internationally in such well reputed exhibitions as ‘Birds in Art’ and the Society of Animal Artists.

One of Terry's recent pieces!

In the summer of 2008, the Woodson Art Museum in Wisconsin hosted a solo exhibition of Terry's works under the title, 'Unknown Bridges'. That exhibition, comprised of 40 works, spotlighted the abstract nature of bridge structure juxtaposed with the softer, natural feel of the animal world. A companion book of the works included in that series was published in conjunction with the opening of the exhibition. And in the fall of 2009, 'Strokes of Genius 2: The Best of Drawing Light and Shadow', was published by North Light Books and includes five of Terry's drawings among the works of the featured 100 artists.

Terry’s Website

Terry’s Blog, Pencil Shavings

Terry’s Facebook page

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The Modern Diorama?

Now that the 51st Art and the Animal exhibition is now open at the Milwaukee Public Museum, or tour director Dr. David J. Wagner wrote an interesting article on the Birth of the Modern Diorama, something that we mostly take for granted while enjoying a walk through one of our many museums.

Enjoy!

The Milwaukee Public Museum

and The Birth of the Modern Diorama

from unedited research notes

of Dr. David J. Wagner

for American Wildlife Art

american-wildlife-art.com

Carl Akeley

Carl Akeley (1864–1926), along with William Hornaday (1854–1937), were first-generation American taxidermists who received on-the-job training from European taxidermists recruited by Henry A. Ward (1834–1906).  Carl Akeley completed the first complete museum habitat diorama in the world, depicting a muskrat colony, at the Milwaukee Public Museum in 1890.

In 1895, Frederick J. Skiff enticed Akeley to leave the Milwaukee Public Museum to become chief taxidermist at the new Field Museum of Natural History, where he would oversee the production of dioramas with painted backgrounds by painters like Charles Knight. While this was the beginning of the “golden age of dioramas,” it would reach its zenith fourteen years later when Akeley would leave Chicago for New York to work at the American Museum of Natural History.  In 1893, Marshall Field agreed to contribute $1 million to acquire the collection of Ward’s Natural Science Establishment, which was on display at the Columbian Exposition, to establish a public museum of natural history for Chicago.  The Field Museum opened on January 16, 1894.  By contrast, The Milwaukee Public Museum which was chartered in 1882 has already opened to the public ten years earlier in 1884.  Its existence however can be traced back to 1851 and the founding of the German-English Academy in Milwaukee.

For futher information, visit: davidjwagnerllc.com, SCHOLARLY RESEARCH: - Taxidermy and Habitat Groups: The Milwaukee-Chicago Connection and The Birth of the Modern Diorama or click:

http://www.davidjwagnerllc.com/Milwaukee-Chicago-Connection.pdf

Simon Gudgeon-Member Profile

Society Of Animal Artists Member Profile

Simon Gudgeon

Signature Member

Sculptor

SAA signature member Simon Gudgeon is one of Britain's leading contemporary sculptors, his recognizable smooth style combines both spirit and nature.  His minimalist, semi-abstract forms depict both movement and emotion.  Gudgeon’s countryside park, ‘Sculpture by the Lakes’ at Pallington in Dorset, provides a tranquil backdrop for his monumental finished pieces and houses convenient studio workshops. Gudgeon sculpts primarily in bronze, marble and granite and occasionally in glass or stainless steel.
 

Simon’s Website

Simon’s Blog

Simon’s  Facebook Page

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