CV

CURRICULUM VITAE

NAME:                       KATRINA COOK

NATIONALITY:       British

EDUCATION:

 BA (Hons) Fine Art (printmaking), University of Plymouth, 1990.

Thesis entitled Accuracy and Aesthetics: a reappraisal of J.J Audubon’s ‘Birds of America’.

MA, Natural History Illustration, Royal College of Art, 1992

Degree by research project entitled The Anatomy of Birds: an Artist’s Guide.

PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE AND EMPLOYMENT:

 Professional natural history artist/illustrator, specialising in drawing and intaglio printmaking (esp. drypoint). Particularly skilled in fine quality editioning. Ornithological subject matter increasingly incorporating coastal landscape / geology since 1995. Supported by field drawing, life drawing and detailed structural and anatomical studies.

Employment history in lecturing, bird ringing, taxidermy and museum curation. Currently in full time permanent employment as Curator of Birds at the Natural History Museum’s ornithological research collection at Tring, primarily responsible for the preparation of bird study skins.

Artist in Residence, Nature in Art, The Museum for the Society of Wildlife Art of the Nations (SWAN), Wallsworth Hall, Gloucester. 1992, 1993, 1994 and 2003.

Visiting lecturer, Chelsea College of Art and Design.  Teaching drawing to BA students, Textiles Department.  1992 - 1994.

Visiting lecturer, The Natural History Museum, London, presenting Techniques of a Living Artist as part of the continuing and adult education course 500 Years of Natural History Illustration. 1994 and 1995.

Visiting lecturer, Illustration Department, Falmouth School of Art and Design. 1995 - 1996.

Visiting lecturer teaching printmaking to BA (Hons) students.   Fine Art and Illustration departments.  Exeter Faculty of Art & Design - University of Plymouth.  1994 - 1997.

Held 5 day workshop in drypoint technique, Nature and Art.  November 1994. 

Illustrated the Field Guide to the Smaller Moths of South East Asia, The Natural History Museum, London.  Completed 1993.

Visited Malaysia to develop drawings of resting postures of Lepidoptera above, October 1992.

[Selected illustrations from the above appear in: Robinson, G S and Tuck, K R, 1997. Phylogeny and composition of the Hieroxestinae (Lepidoptera: Tineidae), Systematic Entomology, Vol. 22, p. 363 – 396

and:

Kristensen, N P [ed.], 1999. Handbuch der Zoologie, Lepidoptera vol., de Gruyter, Berlin.]

Organised Open Studio event at my studio in Devon.  December 1994.

Evening class tutor in drypoint / printmaking at Queen Elizabeth’s Community College, Crediton, Devon.  1995 - 1998.

Initiated and organised annual exhibitions of the above students’ work, promoting the course and the Adult Education Department.  Starting from Scratch, December1995, and New Editions. December 1996.

Artist in Residence, Queen Elizabeth’s Community College, Crediton, working in print with A level Art & Design students.  Spring 1997.

Participated in the establishment of The Double Elephant Print Workshop in Exeter, Devon, to which I also gave its name.  1997.

Prepared bird study skins and skeletons for the natural history collection at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter, since 1987. Self taught bird taxidermist and anatomist.

Holder of a current BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) / JNCC  A-Class  Bird Ringing permit since 1992, licensed to capture and mark wild birds for the purpose of scientific study. Qualified to use mist nets etc. to trap wild birds of all species, ring pulli (nestlings), train new ringers and recommend trainees for permit upgrades.

Participated in European Migrant Birds in Africa (EMBA) Wetlands Trust bird ringing expedition to Senegal.  Jan. - April 1991. Also produced copious field diaries / sketchbooks and prepared and imported bird specimens for use in MA research project, including a complete skeleton of a white pelican.

Organised London fundraising exhibition, Images of South America, featuring the work of ten artists and six photographers, on behalf of the Flor del Bosque Forest Conservation Trust, an Anglo-Ecuadorian charity actively involved in raising money for rainforest purchase in Ecuador. 1994.

Took part in an expedition to Ecuador, July - Oct 1992, to survey the natural history of a rainforest reserve recently purchased by the above; initiated a bird ringing project and produced recordings for the BBC’s Natural History Sound Archive.

Visited the Galapagos Islands (1992), and the Seychelles (1996) to observe and make drawings of birds & landscape. 

Commissioned to spend one month on Shetland as part of an expedition from De Montfort University, Leicester, July1995, to assist and supervise students in bird ringing activities and ornithological monitoring of the Yell Sound islands, and observe and make drawings of seabirds.

Returned to Shetland with the De Montfort University expedition under contract from SOTEAG (Shetland Oil Terminal Environmental Advisory Group) to monitor and ring black guillemots in the Yell Sound area.  July 1996.

Initiated the participation of first year degree students in Illustration from Falmouth College of Arts, with the above, encouraging them to take an active interest in the scientific work of the expedition.

Bird Ringer, Rutland Water Nature Reserve, Egleton, Rutland.  April - Dec 1998. Responsible for all bird ringing within the nature reserve: mist netting passerines and using duck traps etc on a daily basis, supervising and training new ringers, communicating with members of the public and co-ordinating the activities of Rutland Water Ringing Group.

Participated in Birdlife International’s Small Islands Project to monitor the migration route of passerines in the Mediterranean, May 2000, on Comino, Malta. Largely responsible for ringing activities during my stay, assisted by visiting local ringers.

Entry in Hammond, N 1999 Modern Wildlife Painting.

Provided anatomical illustrations for Rescue & Rehabilitation of the Australian White Pelican, the manual of Australian Seabird Rescue, 2002.

Produced cover photograph (2001) and illustration (2002) of the British Geological Survey’s Catalogue of Geological Maps & Books.

Employed at British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Notts. 1999 – 2003. Populated database of fossil specimens held in the Palaeontological Collections. 

Currently Curator of Birds at The Natural History Museum (Tring). Primarily responsible for preparation and repair of ornithological study skins.

EXHIBITIONS AND AWARDS:

Society of Wildlife Artists (SWLA) Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London. 1988 - 2003 inclusive.

Prints with a Point, Off-Centre Gallery, Bristol.  1989.

Open ‘90 and Open ‘91 Print Exhibitions, Royal Society of Painter -etchers and Engravers (RE), Bankside Gallery, London. 1990 and 1991.

Winner of Galleries Magazine Open ‘90 Print Award, Bankside Gallery, London. 1990.

Young Printmakers of the Year, CCA Galleries, Bath.  1990.

Elected Member of the SWLA, 1990. Re-elected as Associate Member 2002 following lapsed membership.

Art in Nature Exhibition, Nature in Art.  The Artist magazine.  1993 and 1994.

Winner of the Wildlife Art Gallery Award, part of the European Bird Art Awards, British Birdwatching Fair 1993.

Original Print Exhibition, Nature in Art.  1993.

Birds Intaglio, solo exhibition, Walter Rothschild Zoological Museum, Tring, Herts.  1993.

Birds Intaglio II, solo exhibition, Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter. 1994.

Images of South America, Bolivar Hall, London.  1994.

The Ark, Rye Art Gallery, Sussex.  1994.

Wildlife of the Southern Oceans, London Ecology Centre Gallery.  September 1994.

Original Print Exhibition, The Wildlife Art Gallery, Lavenham, Suffolk, December 1994.

Wing Point, solo exhibition, The Courtyard Gallery, Eggesford Barton, Devon. March - May 1995.

Millfield Summer Exhibition, Millfield School, Street, Somerset.  1995, 1997 (Highly Commended) and 2001.

Wing Point II, solo exhibition, The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Slimbridge, Gloucs.  June 1995.

Whales & Dolphins in Art, Nature in Art.  May 1996. Porthmeor Printmakers and Friends, Plumline Gallery, St Ives, Cornwall. September 1996.

Winner of the Wildlife Art Gallery Award, SWLA Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries. 1996.

Clean Slate, solo exhibition, Reed Hall, University of Exeter.  October 1996.

Rainforests in Art, Nature In Art.  January 1997.

Birdwatch Artist of the Year Awards. Overall Winner, 1998. Black & White Section, 1997.

The Natural World, Beatrice Royal Contemporary Art Gallery, Eastleigh, Hants.  April 1997.

A Rock and a Hard Place, solo exhibition, Plumline Gallery, St. Ives, Cornwall. April 1998.

On the Edge, solo exhibition, In Focus Gallery, Royal Opera Arcade, London.  July 1998.

 Into the Fire, solo exhibition, Bonhoga Gallery, Weisdale, Shetland.  February 1999.

 National Print Exhibition, The Mall Galleries, London. February 1999.

Open Exhibition; and Second Easter Exhibition, The Place, Letchworth, Herts. Oct. 2000 and April 2001.

Sefton Open, Atkinson Gallery, Southport, Merseyside. Oct. 2000.

Awarded overall first and second prizes in the British Geological Survey’s Annual Photographic Competition. 2000.

South West Academy of Fine and Applied Arts Open Exhibition, Exeter Phoenix and Royal Albert Memorial Museum, July 2001.

Exhibited at the British Birdwatching Fair, Rutland Water, 1996-1999, 2002 & 2003.

Art of the Printmaker, On the Wild Side Gallery, Malvern, March 2003.

ACQUISITIONS:

Nature in Art, Wallsworth Hall, Gloucester.

Kent Kingdon Trust Collection, Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter.

Medical research department, Commonwealth Building, Hammersmith Hospital.

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