Watercolours by JBH Art

03/08/2025

Decided to have a go in this years Holmes Prize for Excellence in Realistic Australian Bird Art. They only take 40 finalists out of thousands...so wish me luck. I'm putting in these 2 parrot pairs, Blue Bonnets and our local Superb parrots. They are a couple of my favourites because of their wonderful colour combinations.

25/12/2024

17/10/2024

Just finished the 4th painting of an Australian Robin series I'm working on. The first 2 are from my photos but I want to thank Nigel Sethack for the use of his great pair of Red-capped Robin photos as reference for the other 2.

13/09/2024

Magpie Commission - Christine's Story
I have known Christine and her husband Jason for many years. Christine actually was one of my very first commissions when she asked me to create a painting from their wedding photos as a gift for her husband. It was my first attempt at a portrait using a watercolour base with pastels.

With this current Magpie commission, Christine said she wanted a special piece as a gift to herself in memory of her Dad. Her father was an avid bird watcher, and spent lots of time talking about birds with Christine growing up. She told me her favourite bird of all...is the Magpie. She remembered that these beautiful birds recognise faces, and she felt very honoured that they seemed to recognise her and not see her as a threat.

As she said, "I've never been swooped in mating season....yet."

I spent some time trying to find the perfect reference photo from my collection. Christine had very definite ideas about the image she wanted and this was apparent in the the photo we chose and the background she preferred.
Incorporating Christine's ideas was a pleasure, and I was very pleased with the final result....as was Christine when she saw the painting finished.

"John listened to my ideas and incorporated them in such a thoughtful way, if felt like a real collaboration, and the result is perfect. John's level of detail is just incredible. The Magpie's feathers look real and he has captured the way that these beautiful birds look inquisitively at us. The background he has chosen just works perfectly, it compliments the Magpie without stealing the spotlight, it looks fantastic!"

Send a message to learn more

13/09/2024

Magpie Commission - Christine's Story
I have known Christine and her husband Jason for many years. Christine actually was one of my very first commissions when she asked me to create a painting from their wedding photos as a gift for her husband. It was my first attempt at a portrait using a watercolour base with pastels.

With this current Magpie commission, Christine said she wanted a special piece as a gift to herself in memory of her Dad. Her father was an avid bird watcher, and spent lots of time talking about birds with Christine growing up. She told me her favourite bird of all...is the Magpie. She remembered that these beautiful birds recognise faces, and she felt very honoured that they seemed to recognise her and not see her as a threat.

As she said, "I've never been swooped in mating season....yet."

I spent some time trying to find the perfect reference photo from my collection. Christine had very definite ideas about the image she wanted and this was apparent in the the photo we chose and the background she preferred.
Listening to Christine's ideas and incorporated them in a thoughtful way, was a pleasure, and I was very pleased with the final result....as was Christine when she saw the painting finished.

"John listened to my ideas and incorporated them in such a thoughtful way, if felt like a real collaboration, and the result is perfect. John's level of detail is just incredible. The Magpie's feathers look real and he has captured the way that these beautiful birds look inquisitively at us. The background he has chosen just works perfectly, it compliments the Magpie without stealing the spotlight, it looks fantastic!"

Send a message to learn more

03/09/2024

Check out the story of Molly’s Galah Commission

I have known Molly for many years and had recently attended her wedding. Molly lives with her husband in a large country farmhouse set on top of a hill amongst 95 hectares of their beautiful property not far from Bathurst NSW. This was a commission I absolutely enjoyed painting for Molly. She had se...

27/08/2024

Commissioning an artwork may not be as expensive as you might think
If you love our beautiful Australian native birds and would love to own an original artwork by me, then you might consider having a watercolour painting done of your favourite bird.
I enjoy doing commissions and I have done a number of watercolours of client’s favourite Australian birds. Commissioning an artwork may not be as expensive as you might think. It all depends on the size of the painting and the complexity of the image. Most artists charge a fixed price per square inch of paint on canvas and multiply that dollar amount by the size of the canvas.
My price for commissioned art is typically between $1.50/sq inch and $2.50/sq inch for watercolour paintings. This includes help to find the perfect reference photo or use your own photo at any size you request. Also being an experienced bird photographer, I can often provide the reference photo from my own collection.
I only use high quality paints and paper and guarantee close consultation to complete the work and ensure satisfaction throughout the process. For example a 10 x 10 inch painting would cost $150 to $250. Or you might like to commission an original 5 x 7 inch greeting card of a favourite bird to be painted to keep or to give as a gift for a friend which can later be framed for as little as $55.

Jasmin's story of my latest Commission.gives a good of what to expect if you commission a bird painting from me.

Jasmin is the owner operator and amazing cook at one of our very successful local small businesses Greentrees Gourmet Preserves, located at Molong NSW. I first met Jasmin when she was just getting into her car at Hillside Harvest Farm Store where she had purchased two of my watercolour bird painting...

27/08/2024

https://bit.ly/4cGMlpS

Jasmin is the owner operator and amazing cook at one of our very successful local small businesses Greentrees Gourmet Preserves, located at Molong NSW. I first met Jasmin when she was just getting into her car at Hillside Harvest Farm Store where she had purchased two of my watercolour bird painting...

21/08/2024

Just finished my latest commission. A pretty blue boy male superb fairy wren. He was commissioned by the lovely lady who purchased my painting of a Jenny wren. She wanted the male to pair with her female and to hang them looking at each other. 🙂

http://jbhart2800.com/shop

04/08/2024

Shadow Box Birds
After my Tassie trip I got inspired to continue my adventures in bird photography and watercolour paint. I particularly enjoyed spending time learning about the birds I had been getting photos of and jotting down some notes about them in my sketch book. The thing I learnt as I spent more time trying to get interesting photos of birds was that you need to spend the time in the field just observing their behaviour. If I was patient and not so anxious about getting the perfect shot I would occasionally see some behaviour that I had never seen before. I noticed that watching birds interact with each other and their environment made me want to get photos that captured their behaviours or the character of their surroundings. So when I began my next attempts at watercolours I wanted somehow to include aspects of the bird’s natural environment and behaviour. The thing that came to mind was a shadow box. This inspiration led me to try a number of different paintings and to try and place the bird in a shadow box with some information about their character or behaviour and some bits and pieces from their landscape. In someways the ideas I had in mind reminded me of my fascination with scientific shadow box collections or the famous assemblage art of the 1950s and 60s.
So my first experiments were mostly from my own photos of local birds, where I tried to include something of the birds ecosystem. Starting with the little Yellow-Rumped Thornbills that I often captured feeding on the ground near where I lived at the time. I really enjoyed trying to gather some similar natural material..rocks and bark with interesting textures and colours. Trying to assemble the shadow box in a realistic way to showcase the bird. I loved the photo I found of a Rainbow Bee-eater and instantly wanted to paint it. I even went as far as adding a bee to the shadow box. Of course I had to do my favourites - the lovely Superb Fairy-wrens. I also wanted to do one about the first Eastern Yellow Robin I ever photographed. I was amazed when on the drive down to Tasmania it perched on a tree next to me ready to pounce on any unsuspecting insects on the forest floor.

Shadow Box BirdsAfter my Tassie trip I got inspired to continue my adventures in bird photography and watercolour paint. I particularly enjoyed spending tim...