JOHN BUSBY
JOHN BUSBY A Memorial Exhibition 1 - 25 June 2016
16 Dundas Street, Edinburgh EH3 6HZ TEL 0131 558 1200 EMAIL mail@scottish-gallery.co.uk www.scottish-gallery.co.uk Cover: Guillemots and Razorbills with Passing Kittiwake and Shadow, watercolour, 27 x 30.5 cms (cat. 3) (detail) Left: Abbot’s Boobies at the Nest, watercolour and pencil, 18 x 24.5 cms (cat. 9) (detail)
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Foreword W
hen I first saw John at work, he was high on a scaffolding tower, painting his mural in the church of St Columba’s-by-the-Castle in Edinburgh. In the many years that followed he was more often high up on cliffs or hillsides drawing and painting the landscape, always looking out for birds. His life-long interest in bird watching was a continuing pleasure to him and led to many travels and adventures. I remember watching the making of Granada TV’s film Portrait of the Wild in Shetland; he was perched in a gale on a sloping rock surrounded by numerous gannets, with the waves sweeping in not far below. “Can you move down a bit”, said the camera man! John’s enjoyment in observing and drawing bird behaviour is evident in the books he wrote and illustrated. His ability to remember detailed moments of complex movements seemed amazing to me - such as the drawings of sea eagles linking talons in aerial mating display (Looking at Birds), and the studies of cranes preening, an endless variety of twists and turns of the neck (Land Marks and Sea Wings). I was fortunate to accompany John to many places I might not otherwise have visited, such as the Galapagos islands and the mountains of Bulgaria and Majorca, but my abiding memory of him is at home, sitting drawing at the kitchen table, watching through the window the birds at the feeder on the balcony just a few feet outside – blue tits, great tits, parties of long tailed tits, the occasional handsome nuthatch, or suddenly a large woodpecker. The birds on the page were as lively as the birds on the feeder and so full of his delight at seeing them. I hope you will see and have the same delight in the pictures in this exhibition, for which my thanks go out to Guy Peploe and The Scottish Gallery . JOAN BUSBY April 2016
Left: John Busby at St Abb’s Head, 2006
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Introduction J
ohn Busby RSA (1928-2015) was born in Yorkshire. The landscape of Wharfedale, where he grew up, shaped his thoughts in childhood; he explored streams to the source, cycled the war-time quiet roads, drew and learned the rhythms of nature. He carried these landscapes in his mind's eye throughout his life. For John, it wasn’t just the discovery of the moorland haunts of the merlin and nightjar that excited him, but equally the mysterious marks of Bronze Age man carved into the rock of that moorland. The spirit of place, the reading of symbol and shape within the landscape, have run like threads through John’s work. He went to Leeds School of Art and then to Edinburgh College of Art, where, after his postgraduate and Traveller, he eventually joined the staff of the Drawing and Painting School where he remained for 30 years. He was the most supportive and generous of tutors and a well-loved colleague.
He developed his practice as a painter and illustrator with residences, travel awards and sabbaticals to such diverse places as Orkney, Aldabra, the Falklands and the Galapagos Islands. His work with Artists for Nature took him to conservation projects in The Netherlands, Poland, Extremadura, India, Portugal and Israel. A great traveller, John was nevertheless, active on the Scottish art scene, becoming President of the SSA from 1976-79 and as member of the RSW from 1982 and the RSA from 1985. In 2007, John curated the successful and well received The Curious Eye for the RSA. After his retirement he ran many drawing courses on the Bass Rock and was External Examiner for Natural History Illustration at the Royal College of Art. Nearer to his home in Scotland, moorland and coastlines of East Lothian have provided endlessly fascinating sources of inspiration, resulting in a series of paintings of rock pools, cloudscapes and hillsides. John has written widely on his interpretation of nature as a painter, and has illustrated many books, making a significant contribution to the observation of the natural world, inspiring and enthusing generations of wildlife artists. He has exhibited widely and internationally; in 1999 he had a retrospective exhibition at Bradford City Art Gallery and a major show at Nature in Art, Gloucestershire in 2015. Unfortunately John did not live to see this last exhibition.
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John’s boyhood sense of wonder and involvement with the landscape never left him. His enthusiasm masked his ageing. A lifelong Christian, he shared a love of music with his wife Joan. In John’s own words: “…The roots of landscape experience go deep into our subconscious and its moods reflect our states of being… landscape becomes a metaphor in art and music and literature for spiritual dimensions.” VICTORIA CROWE RSA April 2016
Right: John Busby at Isle of May, 2005
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1. Young Grey Plover and Reflections, 1991 watercolour, 29 x 35 cms signed and dated lower right
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2. Stonechat, 1988 pencil and wash, 18.5 x 14 cms signed and dated lower right
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3. Guillemots and Razorbills with Passing Kittiwake and Shadow, 1989 watercolour, 27 x 30.5 cms signed and dated lower right
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4. Dabchicks and Great Crested Grebe, 1999 watercolour and chalk, 25 x 30 cms signed and dated lower right Exhibited RSPB Scotland Christmas Wildlife Art Exhibition; Bircham Gallery Contemporary Art, Norfolk
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5. Great Skua Harassing a Sooty Shearwater, 1978 watercolour and pencil, 16.3 x 23.5 cms signed and dated lower right
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6. Painted Lady Butterflies on Buddleia, 2006 watercolour, 31 x 23 cms signed lower right, inscribed with title and date upper right
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7. Song Thrush, 1987 pencil and wash, 14 x 18.5 cms signed and dated lower right
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8. Goldcrest, 1975 pen and wash, 14 x 14 cms signed and dated lower right
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9. Abbot’s Boobies at the Nest watercolour and pencil, 18 x 24.5 cms signed lower right, inscribed ‘Abbot’s Boobies – Christmas’ lower left
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10. Hen and Chickens, 1991 watercolour, 25 x 36.7 cms signed, dated and inscribed ‘Waniero Poland’ lower right
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11. St Abb’s Head and Boats, 2008 watercolour and chalk pastel, 30 x 30 cms signed, titled and dated lower right
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12. St Abb’s Head, 2010 watercolour and charcoal, 33.5 x 24.5 cms signed, titled and dated lower right
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13. Alpine Choughs, Les Ecrins, 1996 watercolour and charcoal, 36.5 x 25 cms signed and inscribed ‘Les Ecrins, May ’96’ lower right
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14. Dancing Cranes, Extremadura, 1994 watercolour and charcoal, 33 x 54.5 cms signed, dated and inscribed ‘Extremadura, Feb’ lower right
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15. Majorcan Mountains from the Summit of Tomir, 1985 charcoal, 28 x 47 cms signed lower right, inscribed ‘From Tomir 3600 ft, Sept 10 ’85’ and ‘From Tomir Mt. Mallorca’ lower left
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16. Studies of Smaller Land Birds, Aldabra, 1974 lithograph with watercolour, 28.5 x 22 cms signed and dated lower right Exhibited The Mall Galleries (Federation of British Artists)
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17. Little Green Bee-Eater watercolour and pencil, 14 x 22 cms signed lower left
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18. Vulture Studies, 1996 watercolour and charcoal, 32.5 x 40 cms signed and dated lower right
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19. Black Vulture Studies watercolour and pencil, 25 x 32 cms signed and inscribed with title lower right Exhibited Society of Wildlife Artists, Mall Galleries, London (Federation of British Artists), 2007
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20. Penguin Studies, 1991 watercolour, charcoal and pencil, 34 x 43.5 cms signed, dated and inscribed ‘Falklands’ lower left, each study is individually titled all six drawings are mounted as a set Illustrated The Penguins by D. Williams (OUP, 1995), Rockhopper, King Penguin Swimming, King Penguin Swimming, King Penguin Walking (p.60), King Penguin Sketches, Gentoo Chick Begging for Food (p.31)
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21. Illustrations from ‘Birds of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan’ watercolour and pencil, 29.5 x 47.5 cms signed lower right, each study is individually titled all six drawings are mounted as a set Illustrated On the Rocks by Bryan Nelson, New Zealand Birds, Ch12 p.214
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22. Fur Seals, Santiago Island, Galapagos, 1999 charcoal, 23 x 34 cms signed, dated and inscribed ‘Santiago, Galapagos, Feb ’99’ lower right
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23. Masked Boobies, Swallow-Tailed Gulls, Hood Island, Galapagos, 1999 watercolour and charcoal, 40 x 31 cms signed, dated and inscribed ‘Hood Island, Galapagos, Feb ’99’ lower right
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24. Maui, Hawaiian Stilts and Night Heron, 1991 watercolour, 29 x 51 cms signed, dated and inscribed with title lower right
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25. Red-footed Boobies watercolour and pencil, 12 x 19.5 cms signed lower right, inscribed with title lower left Illustrated On the Rocks by Bryan Nelson, New Zealand Birds, Ch10 p.198
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26. Little Pied and Black Shags, New Zealand watercolour and pencil, 22.5 x 23.5 cms signed lower right
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John Busby RSA, RSW, PSSA, SWLA (1928-2015) J
ohn Busby was born in Bradford in 1928 and attended Ilkley Grammar School. After National Service, he studied at Leeds College of Art and then at Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) where he was awarded post-graduate and major travel scholarships. On return from France and Italy he was invited to join the staff of ECA, where he taught drawing and painting from 1956 until 1988. A member of the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) and the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour (RSW), he became President of the Society of Scottish Artists 1976-79. A lifelong bird watcher and naturalist, he was a Founder member of the Society of Wildlife Artists (SWLA). Having led courses in Switzerland, Crete, the Falklands and Galapagos and at Nature in Art in Gloucestershire, in 1989 he began a Seabird Drawing course based at North Berwick which has continued each year since, attracting participants from many parts of the world. He took part in projects with the Artists for Nature Foundation (ANF) in Holland, Poland, Spain, Ireland, India, Portugal, and Israel, and in SWLA/Forestry Commission projects in the New Forest and in the oak woods in the west of Scotland. John illustrated over 35 books about birds and animals, mostly about behaviour, ranging from seabirds to tigers, garden birds to otters, and also a book of poems by Kenneth Steven called Wild Horses. His own books are: The Living Birds of Eric Ennion (Gollancz, 1982); the classic Drawing Birds, produced for RSBP in 1986, with a second edition in 2004; Birds in Mallorca (Christopher Helm, 1988); Nature Drawings (Arlequin Press, 1993); Land Marks and Sea Wings (Lavenham, 2005); Looking at Birds (Langford Press, 2013) plus a booklet Landscapes at the Edge of the Sea in 2010, and another for The Curious Eye exhibition which he curated at the RSA in 2007. In 2009 he was declared ‘Master Wildlife Artist’ by the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wisconsin USA. He lived near Ormiston in East Lothian, married to Joan, a distinguished singing teacher. Music was an abiding passion and he was a lifelong Christian. He died in Edinburgh in June 2015.
Opposite, clockwise from top left: John Busby at Dunbar, 2005; John at Tyninghame, 2006; John Busby at St Abb’s Head, 2004; John Busby, North Berwick, 2009
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Lines from Nature by John Busby
Lines from Nature aims to excite and inspire readers with the best in contemporary wildlife art. John’s friend and fellow artist Darren Woodhead wrote: “John Busby’s drawings and paintings live and breathe the magic of their subject. His gannets soar and hang, stall and drift again, riding the currents of air as lightly as the pencil glides. How beautifully his young foxes leap, their energy, rhythm and playfulness radiate from every graphite mark. How deftly the hand of the artist suggests the feathers and down of a barn owl. Behind each of these deceptively simple marks are the decades of experience of the most observant naturalist, and the very finest of artists. So in this, John’s final book, lose yourself in each page and marvel at the gift of touch in every line and mark. The colour harmonies and compositions sing, created instinctively by an eye and hand most finely tuned to the pulse of nature. Treasure this book and live the life on every page.”
Published by Langford Press • 192 pages • price £38
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Lines from Nature
JOHN BUSBY LINES FROM NATURE langford press
38 · ISBN 978-1-904078-61-6
John Busby Lines from Nature
John Busby’s drawings and paintings live magic of their subject. His gannets soar a and drift again, riding the currents of air the pencil glides. How beautifully his you their energy, rhythm and playfulness radi graphite mark. How deftly the hand of th the feathers and down of a barn owl. Behind each of these deceptively simp are the decades of experience of the most naturalist, and the very finest of artists. S John’s final book, lose yourself in each pag at the gift of touch in every line and mark harmonies and compositions sing, create by an eye and hand most finely tuned to t of nature. Treasure this book, and live the every page. Darren Woodhead
John Busby
John Busby was born in Bradford. He stud college at Leeds and then Edinburgh, goin there from 1956 to 1988. A member of the Royal Scottish Acade Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Wate was President of the Society of Scottish A to 1979. A lifelong bird watcher and natur Founder member of the Society of Wildlif John led courses in Switzerland, the F Galapagos, and in 1989 he began a seabird based at North Berwick, which has contin since. He was part of many international the Artists for Nature Foundation. He illustrated over 35 books about bir and his own books include two editions o Drawing Birds, for the RSPB in 1986 and 20 In 2009 he was declared ‘Master Wild the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum
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PRICE IN UK £38
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Published by The Scottish Gallery to coincide with the exhibition John Busby: A Memorial Exhibition 1 – 25 June 2016 Exhibition can be viewed online at www.scottish-gallery.co.uk/johnbusby ISBN: 978-1-910267-38-7 Designed by www.kennethgray.co.uk Photography by John McKenzie Printed by J Thomson Colour Printers All rights reserved. No part of this catalogue may be reproduced in any form by print, photocopy or by any other means, without the permission of the copyright holders and of the publishers.
16 Dundas Street, Edinburgh EH3 6HZ TEL 0131 558 1200 EMAIL mail@scottish-gallery.co.uk www.scottish-gallery.co.uk
Right: John Busby at the Bass Rock, 2005
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