Bird artist makes it big
By Chris Simon

Bird artist Nigel Shaw poses with a photo of a Wilson's Snipe that he painted. The painting earned Shaw a Canadian Wildlife Habitat Conservation Stamp and Print Program award last year. The contest has been running for over 20 years.

The next time a letter is mailed, it might have Nigel Shaw's stamp attached.

Last Spring, the Alcona artist was named the winner of The Canadian Wildlife Habitat Conservation Stamp and Print Program, meaning his painted image of a Wilson's Snipe would appear on letters across the country. The contest, which is organized by Environment Canada and Wildlife Habitat Canada, has been running for the last 23 years. Past winners have been amongst some of the best wildlife artists in Canada, including Robert Bateman, Michele Clarkson, Pierre Leduc and Chris Bacon, said Shaw.

"It's a two-fold competition. Habitat Canada prints stamps and prints and they sell that for money for conservation and habitat research," he said. "It was fantastic. I just painted how I paint, and it was chosen."

Shaw's first professional show took place at the Davidson Gallery in Toronto at the age of 15, however he has been sketching birds since childhood. Throughout his career, Shaw has always painted wildlife, specifically rare and unusual birds. He was inspired by his uncle, a watercolour painter.

But Shaw also shows respect for his subjects, as an active bird-bander for the Canadian Wildlife Service.

The experience has paid off, through knowledge, understanding and inspiration of the birds he chooses to paint. Shaw uses photographs and dead birds recovered while banding for artistic inspiration.

"This is all just what I've learned," he said, discussing never receiving formal training. "A lot of people use birds as a subject matter, but they paint a lot of different things. Myself, it's birds. If I wasn't painting birds, I wouldn't be doing this. The knowledge you get from (bird-banding is great). For me, (a painting) has to be right."

Revenues from the stamp fund WIldlife Habitat's conservation programs. Since 1985, over $52 million has been donated to various conservation, restoration and enhancement projects run by the national non-profit organization.

The contest helps raise awareness about the pressures facing Canadian wildlife, said Shaw.

"I don't paint a lot of common birds, money isn't the driving force behind why I do this," he said. "At show's I'll talk more about the bird, that it's endangered or the habitat. At the end of the day, we all do our part. I want to leave my mark some way."

Winning the contest has also helped bring notoriety to Shaw's work. Over the next year, his paintings may appear at art shows in California, New Jersey and Wisconsin.

"If you want to be in the crowd of the wildlife artists, this is a good (contest) to get into. It's actually helped open a couple of doors, at places where I don't think I could have gotten into the show without being associated with it," he said. "The Algonquin Gallery had the piece there for the summer, and that's a show that's hard to get into.

"A lot of conservation groups have jumped on board with (art shows)."