We have great pleasure in presenting this article about Dick Twinney and his art. His wildlife paintings have given great pleasure over the years and we feel sure that his huge following will approve of those included here.
All images included are available as framed signed canvas prints.
From Dick Twinney’s Website: www.theartofdicktwinney.com
“Originally from Teignmouth, Devon, Dick has worked from his Cornish studio in St Columb Major for over 50 years and has become one of Cornwall’s best-known artists. His highly realistic traditional artwork has gained international recognition and over the years he has provided illustrations for over 25 books by some of the world’s leading publishers. His wild life art has featured on many series of collectors’ plates, greeting cards, giftware, limited edition fine art prints and his original paintings are in collections worldwide.
Refusing to follow any trends in art or turn to a more contemporary way of painting he continues to paint in the traditional style of the artists he grew up with especially Archibald Thorburn and Charles Tunnicliffe whose work he has emulated and been inspired by since childhood.
Dick’s great passion and goal in life is to share the flora and fauna of Cornwall’s coast and countryside, from the smallest insect to the largest mammal through his paintings and writings.
His work has featured in many newspapers and magazines nationally but now, by choice, Dick restricts his articles, shows and artwork to Cornwall, updating all his latest projects and paintings on his Facebook page, Dick Twinney’s Cornish Artwork. He has written and illustrated two books of his own, The Painted Seasons and From Hedgerow to High Tor, both featuring Cornwall’s natural world.”
My Fascination with the Cornish Chough
Cornish Chough on Granite by Dick Twinney
Dick Twinney – The Cornish Chough Story 2021
It all started back in the summer of 1973 whilst walking the coastal path near Beacon Cove on Cornwall’s north coast when Ann and I saw what was thought to be Cornwall’s last resident chough. In fact we saw it on two occasions that year, once with a flock of jackdaws and once calling from a stone wall perch on the edge of the path overlooking the cove. We did not realise the significance of this sighting at the time until talking to some Cornwall bird watchers who indeed confirmed this was Cornwall’s last resident chough, the sole survivor of a breeding pair from nearby Stem Cove where choughs had nested in the 1960s and earlier. This sighting resulted in the evocative painting The Last Chough. Then, after an absence of 50 years, in 2002 Cornwall’s figurehead and adopted icon, the chough, bred once more in the Duchy. Although over the years odd birds had been spotted on our coastline these were thought to be from Brittany, Ireland or Wales where breeding colonies of choughs are still to be found. It was in 2001 when three wild choughs arrived on The Lizard, two of which paired up with the third bird leaving the area. This pair then nested successfully in 2002 and hatched four chicks, three of which survived. These choughs were initially seen regularly in and around South-West Cornwall, their progress carefully monitored by the RSPB and helpers. It was inevitable that I should celebrate such an important wildlife event with a painting, which of course had to be entitled The Choughs Return. The stunning scenery portrayed is the view from above Church Cove looking towards Cadgwith Cove on the Lizard and very near to the choughs original nesting site. The September cliff top foliage has turned golden brown as have the flower heads of the ever-present thrift. I have made the time early morning, sunrise, the start of a new day and as it has turned out a new beginning for our ‘Cornish Choughs’ as they return as a living part of our county instead of just an emblem. Then, in late August 2011, four wild Cornish bred choughs from the Lizard returned to Beacon Cove, their last nesting site on our north coast. So imagine my excitement when towards the end of August 2011 a local resident informed me that choughs had been seen on farmland adjacent to the cove. Throughout September and into October 2011, I visited the area at daybreak on many occasions and was rewarded and indeed privileged by being able to watch, sketch and photograph the choughs several times each week. It was one of the most unforgettable nature watching experiences of my life, something I will always remember and to be able to record this through my artwork made Cornish Sunrise ~ The Chough’s Return such a joy to work on. Beacon Cove on Cornwall’s north coast between Watergate Bay and Mawgan Porth is directly seaward from the little hamlet of Trevarrian and from an artist’s perspective it is the perfect Cornish cove, horseshoe shaped with a beautiful sandy beach at low tide, surrounded on three sides by magnificent and mostly sheer rocky cliffs. The view towards Newquay is truly stunning, especially when the town is lit up by the morning sunlight, as I have shown in the painting. Since then I have featured ‘our’ north coast choughs in various artworks including Cornish Sunset – Choughs at Home, where friends of ours watched three birds active in the little cove, named for whatever reason as Stinking Cove, between Dinas Head and Trevose Head near Padstow. With the lighthouse as a backdrop it just had to be portrayed. Next came Atlantic Sunset ~ Cornish Choughs at Home which shows three of our resident north coast choughs flying towards Stem Point at the north end of Watergate Bay with a view towards the Quies rocks off Trevose Head. My latest Chough painting, the seventh to date, Cornwall our Home – Choughs on a Cornish Hedge – Coast Path, Beacon Cove, Trevarrian, North Coast, This means that 2021 marked the 20th anniversary of their return to Cornwall as a breeding bird. It has been a great pleasure and privilege to have been able to record the return of Cornwall’s iconic emblem through my artwork and to know that I have documented something very special in Cornwall’s natural history. www.theartofdicktwinney.com
These are just six more of my creations but I invite you to check out others on my website: www.theartofdicktwinney.com
Barn Owl at Roche Rock
Cornish Sunset – Otter on the Camel
Heart of Cornwall – Ponies on Rough Tor, Bodmin Moor
Misty Sunrise – Brown Hare, Belowda Mine, Goss Moor, near Roche
Kingfisher and Mooring Post, River Camel, Wadebridge
Peregrine at Home – The Rumps, near Padstow
