Biographical Notes
Darren sketches and paints from life, and his works relate to his encounters near and far.
Darren Rees was born in Hampshire in 1961, and he studied Mathematics at Southampton University teaching the subject for a short time before pursuing painting full time. As an artist he is self-taught. His work has attracted many awards including the Natural World and RSPB Fine Art Awards. He has also been a winner in the Swarovski/Birdwatch and BBC Wildlife Artist of the Year competitions. His first solo book Bird Impressions was greeted by much critical acclaim and was a runner up in the Natural History Book of the Year. Most recently, Darren was appointed Artist in Residence by Friends of the Scott Polar Research Institute, traveling to Antarctica with the Royal Navy. His experiences were documented in his book Ice Bound (Mascot Media).
In 2018 he was part of Chris Packham’s Bioblitz team that toured the UK visiting fifty reserves in ten days, with Darren producing artwork at each site.
Darren serves on the council of the Society of Wildlife Artists and has been a contributing artist to The Artists for Nature Foundation/WWF projects in England, Holland, Poland, Peru and Ecuador. He has held painting workshops for a diverse number of groups, including Stirling University, Boston Museum of Fine Arts and BBC Wildlife Magazine. He is a knowledgeable naturalist and travels extensively leading tours to Europe, the Americas and the Arctic.
The Changing Season, acrylic on canvas (in situ), private collection