Some bird species are common and even increasing. Others become increasingly rare when their requirements are no longer met in an ever more intensively used landscape. Some of these require protection.
I made these bird illustrations exclusively for a consulting agency, which uses them in environmental impact assessment reports.
I often watch birds while I am hiking alone in the forest. But, birdwatching can also be a social experience. The love of wild birds brings people together. Birdwatching groups and societies then often take initiatives to protect the places where rare birds live, and, in this way, help preserve the natural diversity of the world.
Participating in the Asian Bird Fair in Jingshan, China, literally opened a new world for me. It was most inspiring to meet bird lovers and naturalists from all over the world, only a minority of whom were westerners. So many people, from very diverse cultural backgrounds, who, when it comes to nature, all think very much alike. Since I have been there, I believe again that there is hope for the world!
For our stand at the Asian Bird Fair, I made a series of simplified bird illustrations, which I later used at other fairs like the Fiets en Wandelbeurs (Hiking and Biking fair) in the Netherlands.
Breginjski Stol, a mountain ridge in western Slovenia, is one of the last strongholds for Rock partridge in the country. Even here, there are just a few pairs left. The main reason for their decline is the abandonment of sheep grazing in summer and the resulting overgrowing of thick grass and, later, bushes.
I often dream about becoming a shepherd and taking a flock of sheep to places like this. This would be beneficial for both nature conservation and for the maintenance of cultural heritage. Maybe one day?
I made this white drawing while I was daydreaming about this project, and still wear a T-shirt with this print. Maybe, one day …
The international project DinaRis raised awareness about the precarious status of teh Lynx population in Slovenia, Croatia, and Hungary in 2000-2006. For this project, I provided the artwork for an exhibition of posters and interactive elements.
The message of the project was very serious, but in the corners of the posters, I found some space for a lighter note. Here, Jayson the Jay made fun of the subject in a gentle way. On one of the posters, he was wearing a hunter’s hat (with bright blue Eurasian jay feathers) and on another, he even wore hunter’s socks to conceal his footprints!
