About Jack

Jack Fetherstonhaugh painting a bird onto hessian canvas at an easel in his North Wales studio

Hello, I'm Jack

I paint birds. Mostly British ones, usually moving, and nearly always with more paint flying about than is strictly necessary. I work from a studio in North Wales, between the hills and the sea, which is a good place to find pheasants, swallows, oystercatchers and the occasional puffin to stare at.

Since 2011

I've been drawing for as long as I can remember and painting seriously since 2011. Somewhere along the way it stopped being a hobby and became the job, and I've been very lucky that people have kept buying the work ever since. My paintings have appeared in Tatler and The Field, which still feels slightly unlikely when I look at the state of my palette.

Movement, hessian and a bit of mess

What I'm after in a painting is movement: the moment a pheasant gets up, a swallow banks, or a group of puffins argue about something. I paint mostly in acrylic, and I often paint straight onto hessian. The rough weave shows through the paint, catches the light and gives the birds somewhere to live. Splashes, drips and flicks are left in on purpose. They're the energy of the thing.

Prints

Many of the paintings are available as signed, limited-edition prints, from A4 up to A1, either unframed or framed in the studio. Each print is signed, titled and numbered in pencil, so you know exactly what you've got.

Hand-painted glass

A few years ago I started painting onto glass, and it rather took over. Whisky tumblers, decanters, jugs, champagne flutes, gin glasses and, more recently, a herd of cow milk bottles with names and opinions. Every piece is painted by hand and then kiln-fired so the design stays put through normal use. Because it's all done by hand, no two are the same.

Commissions

A large part of what I do is bespoke work: pet portraits on glass, a particular bird for a particular person, a painting for a particular wall. If you've an idea, here's how commissions work, or just get in touch and tell me what you're thinking.

Made Wood Love

When I'm not painting I'm usually building something out of timber that nobody else knew what to do with. That side of things has its own name, Made Wood Love, and its own slightly badly behaved personality.

Thanks for reading this far. Have a look round the shop, and if you see something you like, you know where I am.

Jack