Welcome to the website of Darren Woodhead

Darren sketching on hillside

Darren has been named Birdwatch Magazine Artist of the Year 2009.

Up River, the Song of the Esk, a book showcasing Darren’s recent work for The Orcome Trust, is to be published in August 2009. Launches and exhibited work will be at The British Birdfair on the 21st, 22nd and 23rd August 2009, Carlops Village Hall 4th, 5th and 6th September 2009 and Waterston House, The Headquarters of the Scotttish Ornithologists Club, Aberlady from the 21st November 2009 – 10th February 2010. Read more about the book in the Publications section.

Darren Woodhead is one of Britain’s leading young contemporary artists and watercolourists and is a graduate of the Royal College of Art, London. Originally from West Yorkshire and always a keen naturalist, he now lives and works on the coast of the Firth of Forth in south-east Scotland.

He has exhibited and travelled widely, and since winning the Artists for Nature Foundation Award in 2000, has been invited to accompany the Artists for Nature Foundation on projects to the Spanish Pyrenees (2001), Portuguese Algarve (2002), and Peru and Ecuador (2003), as well as its project in the Great Fen (2004/2005). The resulting award-winning books, Mature Forests, Living Paintings and Treasures of the Forgotten Forests, contain many of his watercolours. His paintings and drawings also feature in Drawing Birds by John Busby (2004).

Elected a member of The Society of Wildlife Artists (SWLA) in 2000, Darren currently serves on its council and has been an active member of many of the SWLA’s projects, including the New Forest (2001) and Aig on Oir (2004/2005). He has won several National Awards for his work.