Meet The David Shepherd Wildlife Foundations’ Award Winners

Claire Harkess was named David Shepherd Wildlife Foundations’ (DSWF) 2017 Wildlife Artist of the Year at a prize-giving event hosted by actor Peter Egan at the Mall Galleries in London last night. Claire received the £10,000 top prize for her work entitled Walrus of Magdalene Fjord. This beautiful work was also selected by the editor of The Artist Magazine as her personal choice (more below).

Commenting on the winning piece the judges said: “Despite the softness of the painting it captures the weight and character of the animal and a real sense of place.”

Claire grew up on the West Coast of Scotland and graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 1993. Wildlife and the Natural World are predominant in her work and since being Artist-in-Residence at Edinburgh Zoo in 1998 she has travelled extensively, gathering material for her paintings – Antarctica, The Galápagos Islands, Australia, the Caribbean, St Kilda, Kenya and India. An elected member of RSW (Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour) she exhibits widely throughout the UK. In 2011 Claire was Overall Runner-up in WAY competition. She currently lives and works in Perth, Scotland.

Celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2017, the Wildlife Artist of the Year competition brings together the world’s best wildlife artists exploring seven exciting categories. From Earth’s Beautiful Creatures to Urban Wildlife more than 130 original works challenge preconceptions of wildlife art.