Dave Chapple's fascination with nature reaches back to his childhood experiences in the Sierra mountains. At an early age, Chapple began drawing the subject that interested him most - the wildlife of the Sierras. Though he seemed destined for an art career, there was another profession in store for him.
His college career allowed him to pursue his interest in nature. He worked part-time at the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum where he acquired first-hand knowledge of anatomy as he perfected his taxidermy skills. His elections as an All American Football Player while at the University of California State Santa Barbara allowed him to pursue his dream of a career in professional sports - a dream he realized in a five-year stint with the Los Angeles Rams. The highlight of his NFL career was the 1972 season. he led the league in punting, set an all-time record for the longest punt and was named All-Pro for his performance.
Still, Chapple kept on with his first love - his art - continuing to refine and perfect his craft. He developed a distinctive style that suited his love of fine detail and his paintings of wildlife are praised and sought internationally by private collectors, sportsmen, galleries and corporations.
Born on February 28, 1949, in Kowing Ton, China, Eric Forlee was destined to become a victim of Mao Tse Tung's Cultural Revolution. Between the ages of four and 14 Eric taught himself how to draw the scenes and objects around him. art became his passion - his major pastime. At age 14, Eric was listed as an enemy of the Chinese Communist Government, simply because his parents resided in another country ( South Africa). He was prohibited from further drawing or painting.
At the age of 19, Eric was sentenced to hard labor in one of Mao's concentration camps. After five years of misery, Eric and five others escaped from the camp and headed for Hong Kong. Two of his companions were shot and killed by Red Chinese boarder guards, and another was eaten by sharks during the eight-hour nightmare swim from the mainland.
After escaping to freedom, Eric worked as a delivery boy, cook, waiter and carpenter. It took him seven years to save enough money to leave Hong Kong and visit his parents in South Africa. From South Africa he moved to Harare, Zimbabwe, where he found work is a supermarket.
Eric was fascinated with Zimbabwe's countryside and wildlife - he began to draw and paint during evenings and weekends. Within three months after his arrival in Zimbabwe, Eric completed his first landscape painting; it sold within minutes of being displayed at a local gallery. Now he began painting in every minute of his spare time and everything he painted sold immediately. In 1982 he gave up his supermarket job to become a full-time artist.
Eric's obsession with wild animals led him on a yearlong trek through African game reserves where he filled dozens of sketchbooks. As he once reflected, "Africa's animals are so free. I cannot help comparing the way they live to the years of my imprisonment in China. I still have nightmares about those days."
His paintings of African wildlife are prized by animal lovers and art collectors. His work "captures the essence of Africa" and has a special three-dimensional quality that brings the subjects to life. Forlee sold his first wildlife painting in 1983, and since that time he has not departed from that subject.
Gary Robert Swanson was born on a small farm just south of Soiux Falls, South Dakota where he lived for sixteen years. The Swanson family migrated to Southern California in the mid 50's and it was here that Gary began his career with the wild creatures of the world. He worked as a taxidermist, museum curator, conservationist and finally as an artist. Gary answered his "Call to the wilds" with sketch pad and a thirst for adventure. He has traveled to nearly every game field on earth so that he may seek out the secret haunts of the wildlife.
For Gary, the freedom, power and romance of the outdoors are a vital part of his creative process. the authentic and often romantic nature of his realism and what continues to drive him to capture those rare and precious moments on canvas that will guarantee his works to be remembered forever.
Swanson's art is a culmination of his lifetime with the wild life and his love for the local people all over the world. He is at home by the campfire on the Serengetti or in a spike camp on the wind blown plains of Mongolia.
Gary has received many honors and awards. he has received Gold Medals, Judges awards, Best of Show and many more. In 1993 he was named the "Legend Of Wildlife Art" by a leading wildlife conservation organization. Gary's time honored method of oil painting on linen canvas with a technique mastered over years of study have brought collectors from the world over to Gary's exhibition and shows.
Gary Robert Swanson is a tireless conservationist deeply committed to saving the wild species and environment of our earth. His life and his works abound with precious examples of the grandeur we can ill afford to lose. For Gary, his art and his subjects are a passion not only to preserve, but for all of us to be a part of.
Trevor V. Swanson, the son of world renowned wildlife artist Gary R. Swanson, is a brilliant example of an artistic inheritance passing from one generation to another. Each of his canvases is an expression of the influence created by the environment in which he grew up.
Trevor lives in Phoenix, Arizona with wife Jennifer and two children, son Conner and daughter Devon. Trevor began painting professionally in 1989, and has worked hard to develop a high level of realism in his paintings. Drawing upon influence of his father's work, Trevor learned an appreciation for realism, detail and the complexities of value systems essential to any fine artwork. He has also mastered the patience needed to make each painting something special. The fact that his father's works are internationally acclaimed and highly prized by collectors has proven to be a catalyst, causing Trevor's reputation to soar to an early prominence in the world of fine art. Invitations to Fine Art Shows and winning the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep artist of the Year has helped to further this outstanding career.
Throughout his life, Trevor has enjoyed spending as much time as possible outdoors. He has traveled throughout the United States, as well as Canada, Africa and Spain. Trevor now enjoys spending as much time as possible at the Swanson ranch in Colorado where he is able to gather invaluable material and experience the endless beauty this area has to offer. From his travels he has developed a great respect and enthusiasm for all aspects of nature which he now conveys through his art. Time spent in the field gives Trevor his keen insight into the precise details of the animals and their environments, which he then transfers to the canvas while remaining true to the fundamentals of artistic realism.
