Peter Marsack has always been fascinated by wildlife and natural history, and has drawn and painted for as long as he can remember. He trained as a zoologist and for ten years worked as a research scientist studying dingoes and feral pigs in Western Australia. In 1991 he resigned to follow his interests in wildlife art, and completed a Graduate Diploma in Plant and Wildlife Illustration at Newcastle University, New South Wales. Since 1992 he has worked as a freelance natural history artist, illustrator and photographer.

He has a passion for his subject and is keen for wildlife art to be regarded as 'real' art; his work is part of a personal attempt to hold on to and communicate experiences. He has travelled widely, always looking at wildlife, with trips to Nepal and Malaysia highlights of recent years. He stays in touch with his subjects through bush-walking and birdwatching, and is a licensed bird bander.

Peter has worked for much of the last decade as a scientific illustrator, mainly painting plates for the multi-volume Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds (HANZAB). He was senior artist on the final three of the seven volumes. This type of work demands a good understanding of structure as well as precise drawing and colour-matching. The other side of these illustrations is the need to make an accurate image 'come alive' and show the particular character of the living bird, and this is where art and science come together.

Peter has always worked in a range of media, though he favours watercolour and gouache for most scientific illustration . He is now interested in using the specialist knowledge gained from his years with HANZAB to produce larger, freer works which show living animals as part of their environment and explore the interaction of light, shade and colour. He is now a tenant at Gorman House Arts Centre, an organisation comprising a range of professional arts practices.

art awards

2003/04. Featured artist, IV Centuries of Birds in Paintings, Sculpture & Fine Prints. Clarke Galleries, Vermont (Florida, New York).

2003. Third Prize, watercolour category, for Glossy Black-Cockatoos, Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize.

1992. Bird Illustrator of the Year, runner-up. Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union.

1991. Insect Illustration Competition, second prize. Australian Entomological Society.

1991. Margaret Senior Illustration Scholarship, Newcastle University / National Parks and Wildlife Service.

published artwork

1996-present. Illustration plates for 'Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds' (Volumes 4,5,6,7), Oxford University Press. Currently senior artist.

1994-present. Artwork for publications of the Australian Platypus Conservancy.

2003. Cover Illustration for 'Jesus in Kashmir - Poems' by John Leonard, Proensa, ACT, 2003.

2001. Featured artist in 'Feather and Brush : Three Centuries of Australian Bird Art' CSIRO Publishing 2001. (www.publish.csiro.au )

1999. Illustrations for 'The Directory of Australian Birds' by R. Schodde and I. Mason, CSIRO Publishing, Canberra, 1999.

1992-1999. Graphics for displays, cards, calendars and conference handbook. Healesville Sanctuary, Victoria.

1993-1998. Illustrations for bird-identification. Wingspan magazine, Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union / Birds Australia.

1998. CD cover. 'Menagerie' by Underdog.

1994-1995. Illustration plates for "Fairy-wrens and Grasswrens" by I. Rowley and E. Russell, Oxford University Press, 1997.

1992-1993. Illustrations for Newcastle University Handbook.

Photography

1992-present. Stock photography for Lochman Transparencies, Perth. Mainly specialist natural history subjects. Publications include Nature Australia, Geo, Steve Parish "Amazing Facts" series and various calendars including The Australian Wilderness Society.

Teaching

2003. One day workshop for ACT Botanical and Wildlife Artists Group. Bird Illustration.

2002. One day workshop for the Nolan Gallery, Lanyon. Bird Illustration.

1998, 1999, 2000. Annual weekend workshops for Barren Grounds Bird Observatory. Natural History Illustration.