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economist suntribune the environment saturday april 6 2002 a markham s sarry kent mackay loves to watch nature when hes not painting or writing about it by carol cooper special barry kent mackay never knew a time when he wasnt interested in v wildlife and birds they play a large part in the markham residents life and liveli hood in his painting writing and animal advocacy work i was never not utterly fascinat ed not just with birds but all ani mals and particularly wild animals i never knew why and still dont said the naturalist columnist wildlife artist and program co-ordi- nator canada for the american- based animal protection institute api mr mackay also serves on the boards of zoo check canada and animal alliance of canada his heart lies with birds and art the truth is im happiest when im painting or birdwatching mr mackay said like his interest in birds and wildlife the drawing and painting of them has always been part of his life i no more recall deciding to do it drawing and painting than i decided to walk or talk its just a part of what ive always done long associated with this area mr mackay spent his earliest days in his grandfathers home on main street in unionville now the united church manse with his fathers transfer to los angeles when mr mackay was still young the family hoped the california would ease his childhood asthma whue meremr mackay had the oppbrtunitytp explore nature it was an important thought- forming time he said i remember s- hqw happy kwas achfldin the- desert up in me mountains and at the seashore vv- the family soon returned to canada and toronto where mr mackay held his first oneman show at the toronto central library atthe age of 13 wildlife populated his child hood home including birds squir rels raccoons woodchucks and weasels a kestrel a type of falcon lived with the family for 12 years and a baltimore oriole for 25 years with permits mrmackay has tened to add aftereffects of the encephalitis contracted atl6cut short his dream of becoming ah ornithologist instead he spent the next 16 years sketching on the uncle bobby show a ctv childrens show when that ended he began writing nature trails 24 years ago me weekly column for the sunday staffphotosjoerd witteveen i no more recall deciding to do it drawing and painting than i decided to walk or talksays markham artist and writer barry kent mackay toronto star he still writes the col umn while continuing his painting mr mackay- calls himself an artistillustrator and- there is a dif ference he rioted illustration demands an exact rendering of asubject he said he could make a living painting fullrtime but instead has decided to try and achieve a balance working in an artistic vein also requires careful attention to detail especially with natural history sub jects mr mackay explained even a little change can make a subject unrecognizable you need to be precise however he prefers art to illus tration and the term artist applies more aptly to him mr mackay said his artwork is commissioned and collected as well as sold from his basement gallery as an illustrator he recently con tributed 32 renderings to the book wrens dippers and thrashers and wrote and illustrated bird sounds both books were published last year and hesillustrating birds of the dominican republic due but in a few years when he paints in an artistic vein mr mackay prefers a realistic style with a fair amount of impressionism hesaid z in those pieces birds from around the world sit stand and soar in their natural surroundings selftaught except for a some time with a teacher mr mackay has developed his own style he cites influences from wildlife painters allan brooks louis agazziz fuertes and tm shortt to schools of flat painting vermeef and impressionism mr mackay works from slides or preserved specimens often he will- look at a subject for a long time and then paint from memory he said he has also worked from slides a specimen a sketch and his mem ory simultaneously the specimens cause a few raised eyebrows among his friends its an interesting juxtaposition he said you have this classic animal rights person a vegetarian who doesnt wear leather painting with a dead bird in his hand but i didnt kill it he said instead he has either collected the specimens of borrowedthem from american museums we really are destroying the support capacity for many different species including our own mr mackay describes painting as a compulsion but one that he easily- combines with other activities he conducts business over the phone while painting v often for up to 90 miriutesat a time he said each activity uses a different side of the brain he could make a living painting fulltime but instead lias decided to try and achieve a balance i realized that i could draw on my expertise as a naturalist to do something positive to help animals im grateful that i have that oppor tunity- he said referring to his toronto star column and his work at the api through his api involvement mr mackay brought awareness to international trade in wildlife and he is about to write a critique of the us governments position on the management of urban canadian geese for the agency speaking of his own environ ment metfown of markham mr mackay was blunt markham is a disaster zone there is sensitivity to environmen tal issues in markham but the town is being subjected to the same thing as so many places urban sprawl the areafirstlost its forest to j farmland and nowis losing that top- grade land to development he said he doesnt criticize the market forces that drive growth but noted that because of development natu ral waterways- become channeled pesticide use increases and water soil quality decline with this deterioration comes increased illness and congenital diseases however some positive things are happening in markham includ- ingthe number of trees planted in town parksand the move to make some parks pesticidefree he said v chapel ridge fun e r a l home 89 1 1 woodbine avenue markham ontario l3rsgh 3blocks north of hwy7x 995 35-8508- email chapelridgehomecom wwwchapelridgeflicom toll free 18778898808 a caring patt of oufxomrnunity a il w hi ft i v irf iy ii v i i xfa plx 4 v sivvv i j jvt w vzh r y ffs t