Cameron Bird
Cameron Bird is a painter from British Columbia who illustrates his part of the country with great expressiveness. With a love for wilderness, he immerses himself in his subjects on each of his expeditions and expresses his passion for the great outdoors in his powerful and colourful oil paintings.
Cameron Bird - Exploring Wilderness
Date and place of birth
Cameron Bird was born in Duncan, British Columbia in 1971. He currently lives in the interior of B.C. with his family.
Background and career
Inspired by the mountains and wildlife, Cameron Bird began painting professionally at the young age of 17 and captured the excitement of the wild on canvas full time since 1999.
Cameron Bird has grown up with a passion for the outdoors. Whether it was a family camping trip to the west coast of British Columbia, a hunting excursion deep in the backwoods of the northern interior or time spent exploring northern Ontario on his grandparents' farm, Cameron developed a love for nature and its surroundings.
His formal art training took place at Emily Carr College of Art and Capilano College where he studied commercial art; as well as completing studies in professional sign painting.
In 1989, Cameron met Canadian artist K. C. Smith, who became a great teacher and friend for over ten years. Smith helped Bird find the knowledge and courage to produce work of power and simplicity. He taught Cameron to simplify his composition and make each brush stroke count. Cameron has always admired the use of bold colour and heavy impasto.
His work and art
Cameron began his career with sketching, which he continues to this day as reference for his larger studio oils. Cameron worked as a pack horse guide in the Chilcotin Mountains to provide him with first hand material for his paintings. He believes these experiences in the wild give his work an added authenticity and true appreciation for nature.
Each year, Bird gathers reference for his work while fishing, camping and hiking in the mountains and outdoors. A particular interest for Cameron is to carry his paint box with him and capture his subjects first hand.
As a landscape/wildlife artist, some would be suprised to find that Cameron firmly believes it is essential to study all forms of art, from realism to abstraction. "Studying abstraction has given me the confidence to further simplification in my work. My personal experiences are what pull me back to some form of reality. I continue to study powerful shapes and layered colour creating an exciting textured painting with an abstract base. With my preferred subject matter in front of me, the possibilities are endless."
Cameron Bird is indulging full time in the wilderness he has grown up in. The alpine lakes and streams in the mountainous region that surrounds him enables his artistic vision to expand.
Cameron Bird is represented by the Au P'tit Bonheur Art Gallery since January 2013, exclusively for Quebec.
