Page 23 - Luce 2021

B ooks a nd Authors

You create nuanced and vivid Jack Tan, PhD Researcher and
portraits throughout the book, JCH Resident Tutor in English and
including of Karuna’s father, but Creative Writing, shares with us
above all this book is a portrait of the
relationship between a mother and his impressions of A Brush with
daughter: conflicted, tender, fraught. Birds: Paintings and stories from
Was this a difficult relationship to the wild by Richard Weatherly
write about? OAM, published in 2020.

Karuna’s mother was the hardest
character I have ever had to write, A Brush with Birds: Paintings and
because the story is told entirely stories from the wild is a gorgeously
from the perspective of her very illustrated book celebrating the life
angry and oppressed daughter. But and art of Richard Weatherly OAM,
I am not unsympathetic towards her environmentalist and one of the
either because she’s based on so world’s finest bird artists. Richard
many migrant mothers I know who has spent more than 50 years
could only parent reactively, instead of observing, drawing and painting
proactively, due to their stressed-out birds in their natural habitats.
life circumstances. I also wanted to
explore the dangers of blindly believing Although the focus of the book is on
the axioms that a parent knows best birds, Richard insists that his life’s Richard’s formal training as an historian
for their child, and that a parent’s ‘love work, reflected in this book, sees at Cambridge University means that he
conquers all’. What if that parent was birds ‘as part of a complex ecosystem is an engaging storyteller. In this book,
deeply flawed and held some pretty and to watch them and understand he pays tribute to his numerous art
dangerous beliefs? How far should them requires an interest in plants, teachers, amongst them Robert Gillmor,
we respect their right to parent animals, insects and geology’. Readers David Reid-Henry and Harry Horswell.
however they wanted? When you think can expect to see birds interacting Readers are given insight into Richard’s
about it, parents have an uncanny with their natural environment and artistic lineage as he remembers his
amount of control over their emerging- stories ‘from the field’, attesting time in London honing his craft with
adult children. to Richard’s work as a lifelong these master teachers.
conservationist.
Was it a challenge to sustain an Telling the story of his career across
adolescent voice in the telling of Readers interested in the education chapters centred on place – Africa,
this story? of an artist would be delighted by Australia, Papua New Guinea, North
the order of the book’s chapters, America and Antarctica – Richard
Many people underestimate the beginning with ‘Learning my craft’, narrates the expeditions he makes
eloquence of a teenager’s thoughts, where Richard attributes his earliest across diverse landscapes and the
wrongly conflating them with art education to constant observation encounters with birds and other
their words. Yet since the beginning of the flora and fauna near Mortlake, wildlife in each ecology, highlighting
of high school, teenagers have been Western Victoria, where he grew up. the importance of conservation which
asked to grapple with questions of Richard’s prose is as sparkling and full drives his work.
morality and mortality through the of energy as his paintings, chronicling
literature they study. Also, the teenage childhood anecdotes of his immersion A Brush with Birds is worth acquiring
girls with whom I grew up had very in wildlife. Opening this chapter is a just for the full-coloured paintings
adult responsibilities (minding siblings, stunning double-spread painting of on every page. Richard’s mastery of
having children of their own, caring a flock of ducks descending onto a the gouache medium has resulted
and translating for their elders, doing all creek at Buttabone Stud Park, New in paintings filled with glorious light
the domestic work in the house). South Wales. It shows Richard’s and details. Gouache is more opaque
I wanted to capture the depth and magical treatment of light – through than watercolour but fine enough to
insight of my friends back then, while the dappled leaves, reflecting on the represent all the details in his highly-
still making them sound like young gossamer surface of the creek, and realistic paintings. In addition to the
adults. So you will notice that Karuna bringing out the skilfully-executed magisterial artwork, Richard’s engaging
doesn’t have very many ‘speaking’ lines landing ducks. Richard has a gift of prose and encyclopaedic knowledge
in the book, and when she does speak individualising each bird and animal of the ecology across five continents
she is not very articulate and usually he paints through movement, posture means that this book has appeal to
just complaining about her mother. and gesture. readers beyond artists.
But the reader has direct access to
her thoughts, and they are more
nuanced.

J anet Clarke Hall 23