January Goldfinch by Emerson Mayes

Medium: Drypoint
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About the Artist
Born in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, Emerson Mayes studied Graphic Arts at Leeds Metropolitan University, winning the prestigious Young Artist of the Year award in 1995, shortly after graduating.

Building on that early success, he has gone on to forge a remarkable career for himself as a bold and dynamic wildlife artist with a uniquely personal vision.

These days he lives and works in his native Nidderdale, which borders on the dramatic, rolling landscapes of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. "I just love the fact that I am constantly surrounded by the landscape that inspires me," he explains, "I have the river at the end of the road, the moors overlooking me and the dale sweeping down in-between. I don't really see the need to travel further afield. The important thing to me when I am painting is that I feel an emotional connection with it, and it is my home county which I have that connection to."

That striving to capture the fleeting moment of a piercing connection with nature is the common thread that runs through all of Emerson's work, in both his landscapes and in what he terms his "Fauna" pieces.

Emerson's work has found an appreciative audience in private, public and corporate collections around the world, including those of the House of Lords and the National Trust.