Wildlife artist knew his calling at an early age
As long as he could remember, wildlife artist Derek Wicks has always wanted to do paintings of animals. He started by trying to paint the animals he saw in National Geographic magazine and sometimes got into trouble for painting on the fridge. He took things a step further when he enrolled at Sheridan College of Applied Arts and Technology in Oakville, which he said, was well known for its technical and scientific illustration program. He graduated at the top of his class with an award for artistic excellence. In his third and final year he was freelancing for architectural companies, doing conceptual drawings from blueprints.
The Horseshoe Valley resident specializes in acrylic paintings. He used to use a lot of gouache and oil but found it was too time consuming.
All his paintings are from places he's been and he's travelled to many of the major continents.
"Everything I paint is an experience I've had,"Wicks said. "It's kind of my history on board." About 90 per cent of his work is done at his studio in Horseshoe Valley. When he's in the field he'll do a quick sketch using water colours. He explained they're nothing fancy, they're just to record colour.
These are some examples of work by Derek Wicks, who is seen here at Bell's Framing & Fine Art in Caledon East.
He's also very heavily into photography and in March will take a course learning how to use transparency cameras. "Information is power," he said. "If you want to be a wildlife artist, know what you're painting, know your subject." He explained people buying a painting also know their stuff, so it's important to be accurate.
Bell's Framing & Fine Art in Caledon East is his official original gallery for Canada. He said Bell's has sold almost every original he's ever done. Owner Robert Bell noted he first met Wicks when he was just 15 years old. "I knew way back then he had something," Bell said. Wicks recalled he sold a painting of a loon 10 years ago when the gallery was located in Brampton. The last four pieces he's done at Bell's were sold even before he finished them. He enjoys the relationship he's had with the Bell’s. "They're great," he said. "They know the art business. They cater to the clientele."
It was in 1993 that Wicks met the biggest influence in his career, award-winning American wildlife artist Dan Smith. They shared the same canadian distributor back then. "We have a similar style," Wicks said. "I've learned so much from him. Dan is the nicest guy in the world. I wanted to have his disposition. He showed me everything I ever asked."
It's been a few years since they've seen each other, with Smith living in Montana, but Wicks sometimes calls him for advice. He also loves the work of another American artist, Thomas Eakins, who painted in the late 19th and early 20th century. He called him one of the first realist painters. A large painting usually takes Wicks about a month to complete. He explained there's a lot of work done before hand such as figuring out colour schemes. About 60 per cent of the work is the actual physical painting. He usually paints eight to 10 hours every day. The setup can take an hour. He may take four or five days off between paintings. He teaches a lot of workshops and noted students can be
very hard on themselves after painting for two to three hours. He reminds them he does it eight hours a day. "The more you do the better you get," he said. "Knowledge is worth its weight in gold. "He added it comes down to trial and tribulation. One of the reasons Wicks chose to live in Horseshoe Valley is because there are five to six conservation areas in the vicinity. Two textures he enjoys painting are snow and water. His favorite spots he likes to go are the Muskoka Wildlife Centre and the Spring Water Conservation Area, north of Barrie. Muskoka Wildlife Centre is a rehabilitation centre and has animals such as cougars, wolves and wolverines". have done private shoots there," Wicks said. Spring Water is known for its white-tailed deer and black bears. Wicks's work has been selected to endorse many conservation efforts such as the Canadian Conservation Fund, Timber Wolf Alliance, Ducks Unlimited and the Children's Wish Foundation. Ducks Unlimited named him 2007 National Artist of the Year. The Portfolio Press of New York also named him one of the 60 masters of wildlife art in 2001. His work has received international attention and appears in private, corporate and public collections worldwide. He is published and distributed by Wild Wings Publishing of Lake City, Minnesota. Wicks noted he does reproductions through his own company, Wild Realms Publishing. He does 25 prints to the edition. "If I could cut out reproductions altogether I would," he said. He has a show planned for Saturday, Sept. 20 at Bell's Framing & Fine Art featuring his Alaskan retrospect. He will feature 10 pieces from his guided tour of Alaska where he spent two and a half weeks in September 2006. He was also be doing a photograph presentation showing about 200 of his best shots. People can contact Bell's or Wicks at his Web site, derekwicks.com, to get on the invitation list. Travel is something Wicks and his wife Suzanne have in common. The couple bought their first home together in Caledon East in 1999."I love to travel," he said. "I want to see every corner of the world I can."
There are places he's dying to see. His next trip will be to Churchill, Manitoba, this fall to see the largest concentration of polar bears in the world. He's also planning to go back to Africa in February 2009 to see mountain gorillas in Uganda. He said mountain gorillas and tigers are his favorite animals. "My goal is to paint every animal I can," he said.