Robert Bateman - Life Sketches - a Memoir

For the last two days, I was completely torn as to whether to go to Robert Bateman's book-signing evening here in Calgary. This was a man I had always wanted to meet, but the bookstore where he was going to be was located in a large shopping area that I always avoid at all cost. The tangle of roads in and out of it is so confusing and I knew that it was not the best place to be driving in the dark, with very poor night sight! My good friend Sandy made a last minute decision to go herself and, after meeting her half way, she drove us the rest of the way, which was wonderful! The line-up in the store was quite long when we got there early and it continued to grow all evening! Thanks so much for doing this, Sandy!

This author took his time with each keen buyer of his new book - filled with sketches and paintings not seen before. Even by the time it was eventually our turn, he was so relaxed and took time to chat - a real people person. Hard to believe this gentleman is 85 years old!

After our most rewarding visit, we stayed in the store and had a drink - for me it was peppermint mocha. The kind of drink I never, ever buy, lol. It kept me wide awake and up till about 5:00 am this morning! Fortunately, I didn't have to go anywhere and I slept till almost 1:00 p.m, hence my very late posting on Flickr.

"Robert Bateman has been a keen artist and naturalist from his early days. He has always painted wildlife and nature, beginning with a representational style, moving through impressionism and cubism to abstract expressionism. In his early 30's he moved back to realism as a more suitable way to express the particularity of the planet. It is this style that has made him one of the foremost artists in his genre."

collections.batemancentre.org/artists

collections.batemancentre.org/artists/notebooks

robertbateman.ca/

"Robert Bateman’s realistic painting style, featuring wildlife in its habitat, encourages the viewer to closely observe the natural world. Besides being one of Canada’s best-known artists, he is a naturalist, recognized by the Audubon Society as one of the 20th century’s “heroes of conservation”. He is a spokesman for many environmental and preservation issues, using his art to raise millions of dollars for these causes.

Robert’s honours and awards are numerous, including Officer of the Order of Canada. He has been awarded twelve honorary doctorates and has three schools named after him. He has been the subject of many films and books that include The Art of Robert Bateman [1981], The World of Robert Bateman [1985], An Artist in Nature [1990], Natural Worlds [1996], Thinking Like a Mountain [2000], Birds [2002] and New Works, [2010] as well as several children’s books."

batemancentre.org/robert-bateman/

"Bateman's art reflects his commitment to ecology and preservation. Since the early 1960's, he has been an active member of naturalist and conservation organizations., now on a global scale. He has become a spokesman for many environmental and preservation issues and has used his artwork and limited edition prints in fund-raising efforts that have provided millions of dollars for these worthy causes. He says, "I can't conceive of anything being more varied and rich and handsome than the planet Earth. And its crowning beauty is the natural world. I want to soak it up, to understand it as well as I can, and to absorb it… and then I'd like to put it together and express it in my painting. This is the way I want to dedicate my life.""

www.saltspringisland.org/artists/robert_bateman.htm

To see all his artwork, follow the link below:

www.artcountrycanada.com/BatemanBio.htm

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bateman_(painter)

robertbateman.ca/biography.html