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Maranda Coleman-Cooke is an experienced wildlife painter using oils on canvas. She gets her inspiration from the wildlife around Braunton Marsh, N Devon, and is actively engaged in organising numerous projects which support and maintain the diversity of local habitats
'My early years were spent studying and observing the wildlife of Herm Island and Exmoor, and influenced by my father, who founded the Exmoor Society, fought to save the moorland from being ploughed, and helped to reintroduce the Black Grouse'.
Braunton Marsh1 is at the centre of Maranda Coleman-Cooke’s life and work; an artist and conservationist, her paintings depict the marsh’s wildlife, and in 2007 she won a Conservation Award from Barnstaple and District Civic Society for her work to protect the area’s ecology.
New projects are evolving continuously – like making an otter holt or devising an artificial breeding bank for kingfishers as well as the project to instigate a fenced enclosure for breeding ringed plovers at Crow Point, which won the conservation award.
'Barn owls are my passion though. Linhays have been restored on my marshes to give them sanctuary, and two years ago I had the only two breeding pairs there'.
'Its a world of camouflage - every species hidden away in a fragile existence. To paint wildlife you have to enter their private world, which requires my intuitive ability to observe within a camouflaged environment.'
'My paintings are a celebration of all the species that choose to live beside us in an endangered environment. If we are lucky we may see the vibrance of the glistening pebbles from the ebbing tide - the kingfisher hidden away in the alder tree - or that second to see the otter slip silently into the river. It is there for us all to enjoy - when you next walk under the turquoise sky will you see the ringed plover eggs so perfectly camouflaged in the golden sand?'
A bursary awarded by the Royal Society of Arts to study the architecture of Antonio Gaudi in Spain formed the basis of exploring my relationship with nature.
In 2007 I won a conservation award from Barnstaple and District Civic Society for my work to protect the areas ecology. This involved a community project to instigate a fenced enclosure for breeding Ringed Plovers. This inspired the beach scenes .
I have exhibited at the The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition , Patricia Wells Gallery, The Sladmore and The Tryon Gallery.
Maranda Coleman-Cooke
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You can view a selection of Maranda's latest prints at The Hunters Inn, Heddon Valley, Parracombe, North Devon, EX31 4PY, 01598 763230
Please use this order form if you are interested in the purchase of one of these limited edition prints.
1. Braunton Marshes are a collection of separate pastures and represents a unique microcosm of traditional rural life in North Devon. The Braunton Marshes also provide an important habitat interms of bird life, including many species of conservation concern. The area is included under the RSPB Important Bird Area designation.
