Avian Inspiration
Art and Design Inspired by Birds

As Claude Monet once said, “I would like to paint the way a bird sings”. From the sacred falcons and ibises in ancient Egyptian glyphs, to the elegant cranes and swallows in East Asian ink paintings, birds have been revered for their beauty and symbolism, gracing numerous tapestries throughout art history.

Swoop into a delightful realm of winged wonders through the lens of bird-loving artists and creatives in Avian Inspiration, which serves not only as a collection of contemporary artistic interpretations of our feathered friends, but also as an homage to the enduring allure of avian life. Whether you are an avid ornithologist or simply someone captivated by the wonders of nature, flip open the pages and immerse yourself in an enchanting avian world where the brush meets the feather.

Mr Ellis comments: I was delighted to be invited to be a part of such a beautiful book.

The works featured are from my series Murmurations, an ongoing collection of oil paintings based around birds that takes its title from the name given to a large flock of Starlings where the individuals fly together with something resembling a single, collective consciousness. 

I've always been taken by the fragile and fleeting nature of birds; something that stems from my childhood in Norfolk, watching and rescuing birds and animals, collecting bones and digging up skulls, and probably also explains the large amount of taxidermy in my classroom!