cover image David Shepherd: The Man and His Paintings

David Shepherd: The Man and His Paintings

David Shepherd. David & Charles Publishers, $0 (168pp) ISBN 978-0-7153-8756-6

This impressive collection of some 70 paintings depicts Victorian England, graffiti-covered buildings in present-day Northern Ireland, jungles and parks of Africa and India, aircraft carriers and hangars, and ""a down-to-earth and realistic portrayal'' of Christ. A self-declared romantic, British artist Shepherd aims in much of his work to recreate the atmosphere of past days ``when the pace of life moved slower'' and to publicize a variety of causes ranging from endangered animals to endangered steam railways. Best known for his wildlife art, Shepherd here features elephants, lions, African buffalo and Tiger Fire (``the most celebrated painting in my career''). Unfortunately, his amusing anecdoteshis ill-fated voyage to Africa to become a game warden, his rejection from art school, his confrontations with the wild animals he paints from lifebecome redundant and tiresome. (January