Ian Longhurst

I am a Suffolk born, self-taught artist. I've had a lifelong curiosity and appreciation of our native bird life, and always felt grateful, even as a child, for all the wonderful, natural, wonderful things around us.

While at school I used to keep and show canaries and native birds in captivity, breeding and studying their behaviour. I was drawing and painting it all whenever I could. I used to have a bucket beside my bed in the holidays with some orphan bird to hand rear, often using my canaries as foster mothers.

I am now ready to start sharing my work, a lifetime of memories. I use my own photography as a guide to accuracy, and try to create an atmosphere. I have a finished painting in my head before I start, although they often take their own course. I have used most mediums but enjoy gouache the most. I exhibited at Wivenhoe Bookshop earlier this year, and will be at The Sentinel in Wivenhoe in August. I am at the Maltings Gallery, Snape Maltings and Dedham Art and Craft Centre. All my work, including prints, are available from my website.

I hope you enjoy what you see and thank you for reading.

www.ianlonghurst.co.uk