For the Birds: An Artist’s Aviary with Author Alex Beard

I’m so excited to share about artist Alex Beards’ most recent book, For the Birds: An Artist’s Aviary. This book is a must for both art and bird lovers, featuring beautiful drawings by the artist alongside poems and side notes that indicate the paint colors used for various birds. The artist’s unique style is a delight for the senses with its exploration of the natural world.

Through this Q&A with the artist/author, you’ll gain an inside look at this truly stunning book, which deserves a spot on your coffee table or in your personal library. Signed copies can be ordered through the artist’s website.

How did you select birds as the focus of your latest book, For the Birds: An Artist’s Aviary?

Birds are a great subject for an artist.  Their feathers, beaks, feet, and flight are intrinsically whimsical and so both fun to paint and draw and engaging to look at.  They have such diverse colors, details, and personalities that it really allows both the paintbrush and the imagination to run wild. 

What drew you to your signature style of Abstract Naturalism?

I’m interested in the ways things in nature move and interact.  Painting the intersection of the natural world and the gestural sinews that tie everything together lends the imagination to the real.  

Which of the birds featured in the book was your favorite to paint? (I’m of course partial to the hummingbird and flamingo)

I think of the whole body of work as a singular artwork.  The book itself is only as good as all of its components put together.  With that said, I’m partial to the King Vulture and the poem that goes with it.  

Which bird was the most labor-intensive to create?

Some of the more complex compositions and composites took the longest, but sometimes the simplest, quickest, and least labor-intensive take the most work.  The Cardinal took one minute to create and thirty years of practice to figure out how to do it! 

Have you had a chance to see all of the birds in the book in their natural habitat?

No, not at all, unfortunately.  The Great Auk, for example, is extinct and has been for quite a while.  Still, I’ve seen most in the wild! Maybe 90%? They are fascinating to see in person, and sometimes, like the Cassowary, can be a little scary!    

How long was the process from drawing each bird featured in the book to the publication date?

A book takes three years.  One year to plan it.  One year to compile/create it.  And one year to eagerly await the print and launch of it! 

Your previous publications include Tales from the Watering Hole, and your artwork was featured in A Brush with Nature: Abstract Naturalism and the Painting of Life. Do you have plans to release another book in the future? 

Oh, absolutely.  I love books.  What the next book might be…? That’s wait-and-see pudding! 

You created The Watering Hole Foundation, and you are on the board of the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. Will a portion of the proceeds from the book go to these wildlife organizations?

Yes, in fact, I’m doing an event/book signing at The Explorer’s Club in NYC at the end of October, with proceeds going to the Watering Hole Foundation with Lewa as the beneficiary.  Also, at my gallery in New Orleans, I always have one or two pieces of artwork with 100% of the sale benefitting the charity.   

(An off-topic question) Your home in NOLA is called The Pink Elephant. How did it get its name?

These grand, antique houses in New Orleans can definitely be called “white elephants”.  They are expensive to maintain, and impossible to ignore… except my house is painted pink!

Photo Credit: Bryan Tarnowski