Chris Spiker

Creating pictures through the mediums of painting, drawing and photography is a key element in how Chris Spiker enjoys life. Observing light and shadows playing through trees and across paddocks in the evening is one of life’s greatest visual pleasures, says Chris. He loves birds! He loves how they display their gentle and kind mannerisms, their calls and their diverse appearances. Chris is also fascinated by their sometimes seemingly harsh ways of surviving and of course their very natural flighty characteristics.

Chris' purpose in painting is firstly to express his personal artistic nature or character - "I see things and therefore just simply want to create a picture of what I see." But far more importantly than that, he paints birds because he loves them for their habitual diversity and beauty. In the course of painting birds, Chris also hopes that he might encourage other people to appreciate the need to ensure the permanent preservation of birds generally and in particular, our Australian black cockatoos and smaller parrots and bush birds that are increasingly vulnerable.

When he is not painting birds and their surroundings, Chris loves to capture the diversity of people and the buildings and activities that define the streets of urban landscapes throughout the world. Chris’ interpretation of places, recognition of details in nature, and maintaining relevant proportions in pictorial forms results from his many years working as a design draftsman.

Chris’ preferred medium has predominantly been watercolour with a “spattering” of drawings using ink and wash, as well as pencil drawing. All of his watercolour paintings are created on the finest quality (Arches 300gsm) hot-pressed paper, which provides a beautiful smooth surface for capturing detail and completing fine line work. Chris uses only the finest quality professional artist’s paints available.

Made in Western Australia.