Hart A New Original by Robert Oxley

‘Hart’  (“hart” was used in medieval times to describe a red deer stag more than five years old)

As a little boy, Robert dreamed of becoming a zoo keeper. Today, the lions, tigers and elephants that roamed his imagination are given new life in his dazzling paintings.

He has returned with a collection inspired by his love of music and animals. A touching portrait of a powerful and intelligent animal, Robert Oxley’s portrayal of the Tiger Ranthambore II is a follow up to his previous piece! This majestic and powerful predator would look fabulous as the focal point of your living room – a real conversation piece.

“When I created this body of work I wanted to take natural history painting in a new direction, I had been committed to natural history painting for 20 years and needed to find my own voice in a genre which is all technique and little imagination. My work is in part about my history in wildlife art and then deconstructing it – washing it away to reveal another way of conveying wildlife for myself.”  “My work appears loose and free but is in fact complex, which is what nature is all about.”

For as long as he can remember, Robert Oxley has loved painting. He learnt early on that he could impress others with his art when one of his drawings was published in a book called ‘Getting Ready For School’ which was sent to nursery children all over the world. As he grew a little older, his work was influenced by his love of horror movies and rock music, and he would spend all his time drawing monsters and copying album covers.

Robert developed a passion for wildlife, birds and natural history and, longing to be a zoo keeper, he began to make and paint dioramas for imaginary zoos. At around 12 years old, he accepted a challenge from his grandfather to draw all the birds in an illustrated book of birds they both loved, and was a little surprised when his grandfather then arranged an exhibition of them at his work!

Robert attempted an Art A Level in school and a degree later in life, but found both a little too repetitive, and felt he was more advanced than the class tutors. As a result, Robert is entirely self-taught; he says “Everything I know I taught myself from watching and doing, if I saw something I liked I’d try it myself and I never give up on a piece.”

He has gone on to enjoy exhibitions in various galleries throughout the UK, appeared in number publications and was highly commended by the BBC wildlife artist of the year before signing to Washington Green Fine Art.