Watch my video of wildlife in winter and see the resulting paintings

I am currently exhibiting a new collection of paintings of wildlife in winter and I thought I would share with you the photographic and video research that went into this new series. I am particularly interested in how animals behave when the temperatures drop and so whenever it snows I like to get out with my camera to see what I can find. This is a really magical time. Not only does the world turn white, but the lighting is also beautifully soft. Wild creatures are also easier to spot since there is so little cover for them. They are too busy searching for food to worry about you watching them! Below is one of two videos currently on show in my gallery in Thixendale, North Yorkshire, alongside my latest exhibition of paintings. It collates the many photographs and video that I have taken of wild creatures in winter and is interspersed with stills of my paintings to show how I translate these images in paint. Of course it doesn't have to snow for me to capture interesting behaviour on camera. I often go out shortly after heavy rain to watch owls. Barn owls struggle to fly in a downpour and so if it has rained non-stop for a while they get hungry and go out hunting. Read my blog post on how I watched the short eared owls featured in the paintings in this video after days of winter rain.

https://youtu.be/U4896t0NB5c

Wintertime is also the time to see migrant birds and Christmas is always made more magical if I get to see a waxwing! These Nordic birds fly here from Scandinavia to feast on our berries. The following video, the second of two showing in my gallery as part of my exhibition, has some gorgeous footage of waxwings. Read my blog post about how I once set aside my Christmas dinner in favour of watching these beautiful birds here. 






I use nest cams hidden in my garden to capture the most secretive of UK mammals, stoats and weasels. Don't miss the sequences in the video below where I watched a young stoat awaken to its very first snows! It seems delighted when it peers out of its nest chamber to see the world is covered in white stuff! Watch as it slips on the ice on my pond! At this time of year I also like to wrap up warm in a white snow suit to photograph wildlife. Don't forget to watch to the end of the video to see the incredible footage I got one year of hares boxing in snow and follow it to the very end to see the finished paintings that are now on exhibit at my gallery in Thixendale, North Yorkshire.

https://youtu.be/xbrmhpkAxlM

I will be holding a talk and slideshow about my creative process: from wildlife sighting to finished art work, at 7.30pm at my gallery on November 18th. To find out more about this event and to book a ticket click here 



My exhibition runs until November 26th and is open every day until 4.30pm. Alongside my paintings, prints, photography and artwork I have laid on some birdwatching and falconry events. Find out more about what to expect at my art exhibition here:

https://www.robertefuller.com/my-christmas-exhibition-will-focus-on-wildlife-in-winter/