Chris Rose

Chris Rose is an award winning artist who specialises in paintings of wildlife, particularly birds, within the natural landscape. Recognised as one of the UK's leading wildlife artists he has exhibited widely in the UK and overseas and has been a member of the prestigious Society of Wildlife Artists (SWLA) for over 25 years. Until recently he was secretary of the SWLA and previously served on the board of governors of the Federation of British Artists (FBA) at the Mall Galleries, London.

He has won several awards including the Arts Club Award, British Birds journal's Bird Illustrator of the Year and was twice winner of Birdwatch magazine's Wildlife Artist of the Year. In 2015 he won the Wildlife Trusts Undersea Art Award and appeared on the BBC's Countryfile programme drawing underwater whilst scuba-diving.

His work appears in many books and he has been the subject of numerous magazine articles. A book of his paintings, In a Natural Light, was published in 2005 and was chosen as the Guardian newspaper's 'Natural History Book of the Year'. He has been the sole illustrator for many books including the Robins and Chats (Bloomsbury 2015), Swallows and Martins (Helm 1989) and Grebes of the World (Coleman 2003). He has had work in many other publications including the popular RSPB/AA Birds of Britain and Europe and the seminal work Handbook to the Birds of the World (Lynx Edicions 1992 - 2013).
Chris studied biology at Nottingham University, where he was president of the Ornithological Society, before embarking on an art career. A keen birder, his passions for birds, wildlife and art have taken him to many countries. He spent three months in Malaysia working on the Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula (Bloomsbury 1999) and in 2010 spent 5 ½ weeks with research scientists aboard a 20m yacht drawing and painting the wildlife and landscapes of South Georgia. The resulting exhibition raised funds and awareness for albatross conservation and he regularly gives illustrated talks on this and other subjects.