FEATHERED DINOSAURS...A word from the artist..

So...why do another book on feathers and dinosaurs when there already seems to be so many ? For several reasons. Firstly, when I read 'The Jehol Biota - The Emergence of Feathered Dinosaurs, Beaked Bird and Flowering Plants' (eds Mee-mann Chang et al, Shanghai Scientific & Technological Publ. 2003), my perception of the prehistoric world was forever altered. I realised that coexistent with those lumbering megabeasts that have always enthralled us was a whole suite of previously unrepresented animals that occupied ecological niches at every level of the food chain. For the first time it was explained precisely how these smaller predatory dinosaurs were able to maintain their position in this heirarchy - they had insulation.

And then I realised that the majority of these creatures - new to science as they were - had not yet been accurately depicted. With this realisation, another reason emerged - the passion of my youth was rekindled. I was, like many other children, one of those besotted by the almost fantasy world of the dinosaur - to such a degree that this passion sparked my early career in palaeontological reconstruction.

The chance to revisit that world of my childhood, but armed now with the disciplines of research and illustration, was one I simply could not let pass. Many of the paintings within the book required exhaustive research which foremost involved comparing the morphology of creatures from past to present. Similar considerations were also given to habitat and behaviour. To be able to collaborate in these matters with such an acclaimed author and palaeontologist as Dr. John Long was a fantastic opportunity.

I could, of course, have painted all of these animals in a conservative and composed manner, but that child still inside of me demanded some flesh-tearing drama too!

The final result is therefore a very different book to anything that has preceded it. I trust you will receive as much enjoyment from viewing these images as I received in painting them.

Peter Schouten
May 2008

Review of Feathered Dinosaurs

Last week Peter Schouten and John Long generously made the time to come to the shop to sign copies of their handsome new book Feathered dinosaurs. We have also taken delivery of the original artwork and one day plan to sell it for Peter. They are very handsome and unusual pictures. We obviously handle and see a lot of books but I can truthfully say that the design and oblong format of this book works very well. The plates and text are well presented. I am no palaeontologist but the text is readable and scientific. John Long has a serious reputation with a string of important discoveries. For those interested in wildlife art Peter Schouten is well known for his many projects with Tim Flannery (Tim and John are cousins). His Gap in Nature paintings were widely exhibited and very popular when put up for sale. It is fair to say that palaeontology as a scientific discipline and an amateur pursuit is growing and this is reflected in the high standard of technical and semi-technical books. For more details of the book click here.

Andrew Isles

Heart of the Dragon

The first episode of Wild China that aired last night on ABC 1 was fantastic. Visually stunning, the show offered a unique look at both the wild animals found in the south of China and the symbiotic relationship they share with the humans living there. The episode also included remarkable footage of Rickett's mouse-eared bat's fishing at night, the first to ever be filmed. Last night's episode was a very promising start to the series and we recommened you tune in next Sunday.

Wild China airing on ABC TV

Wild China, a new six-part series from the BBC, will air on Sunday nights at 7.30pm on the ABC from this weekend, Sunday the 18th of May. Using high-definition cameras, this series captures the diversity and mystery of a most enigmatic of countries, China, to reveal a land of astonishing complexity. The first episode, screening this Sunday, Heart Of The Dragon takes viewers to the steep hills and rice paddies of Southern China. For more information visit the ABC Website or for full details on the series, its filming and more visit the Wild China homepage on the BBC Website. The book that accompanies this series will not be released in Australia until August this year, however we are taking pre-arrival orders now. Full details of the book can be found here.

Welcome to our new blog

Welcome to our first blog. Our intentions with this site are to provide interesting snippets relating to books, conferences, wildlife documentaries, zoological and botanical gossip and so on. We hope to twist the collective arms of various natural history luminaries and get them to make the occasional contribution. Please visit regularly and help us with the content. Any suggestions are welcome.

We are Australia's largest natural history specialist bookshop dealing in new, secondhand and fine antiquarian books, paintings and original artwork. We have large stocks of books on birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, invertebrates, botany, ecology, palaeontology, insects, marine, biology, aviculture, fossils, entomology and conservation. Australian bird books are our specialty. We stock field guides for Australia, America, Britain, Africa, Europe and Asia. Our wildlife art gallery includes original paintings by Neville Cayley, Bill Cooper and Peter Schouten.

Andrew