Richard Allen - Wildlife Artist and Illustrator.

Born in Newbury, Berkshire in 1964, an Art Foundation Course at Brighton was followed by a Degree in Graphic/ Illustration at Kingston Polytechnic. Starting as a freelance illustrator in advertising, publishing and newspapers, my work has gradually drifted towards my main interest of birds and wildlife especially after winning "British Birds - Bird Illustrator of the year" in 1993. Now living in Wivenhoe the bird rich estuaries and marshes of the Essex coast have provided an endless source of inspiration and fueled a passion for field-sketching. Travels to China, USA, Southern Asia, Senegal and many parts of Europe have revealed a wealth of new subject matter, and I've filled many sketchbooks with observations of wildlife and landscape.

This essential field experience has proved most useful when illustrating bird identification guides. Publications include, "Concise Birds of the Western Palearctic"(Oxford University Press), "The Handbook of Birds of the World" (Lynx Editions), "A Field Guide to the Birds of South East Asia"(New Holland) and the recently published "Sunbirds and Flowerpeckers"(A&C Blacks).

I also work in scraperboard producing woodcut style illustrations for packaging, advertising and newspapers for the Times, Sainsbury’s, Hello and various Design Agencies. More recently I have gradually developed my watercolour style, enjoying the vibrancy and immediacy of the colours, mainly natural history subjects, but I will tackle most subjects including castles, barges, maps and hill-forts.

Current and recent projects include a book on Birds of Paradise, stamp designs for the Solomon Islands, Barbados and South Georgia, identification panels for the hides at EWT Abbot’s Hall, and work for the RSPB, including "Birds" magazine and a mural at Rainham Marshes reserve.

Exhibited at the Society of Wildlife Artists exhibition, Mall Galleries, London;
Wildlife Art Gallery, Lavenham, Suffolk;
Abberton Wildfowl Centre, Colchester, Essex;
Birdscapes Gallery, Norfolk;
Birds Birds Birds, Faversham, Kent;
British BirdWatching Fair, Rutland Water.