Few places on earth afford better opportunities to enjoy, study and paint wildlife than our national parks. Artist Dale Thompson's intimate knowledge of the wilderness and its inhabitants comes from twenty years living and working as a naturalist in these special places.
Thompson will be the first to tell you that/ to paint wildlife successfully, knowledge alone is not enough. The artist must have opportunities to watch wildlife interacting and behaving normally in their natural element. From these experiences, comes understanding, caring and love that will be reflected in the artwork.
Thompson's park assignments took him from the mountains and canyons to deserts, seashores, and volcanoes. In these settings, there were almost day to day encounters with wildlife. Acquisition of an extensive personal library and countless hours of study supplemented his observations in the field. All this lends important credibility to his meticulously detailed paintings.
Over the years, he illustrated trail guides and other publications and designed exhibits for several national parks. While working as a training specialist at Grand Canyon, he was encouraged to exhibit his work in galleries in Phoenix and Scottsdale. The response was so favorable that, with the blessings of his family, he decided to launch a new career in wildlife art. In 1981, he resigned his position as Chief Naturalist for Mount Rainier National Park to devote his talents and energy to full-time painting.
Today Dale Thompson's artwork is found in many galleries and private collections around the country. He has illustrated books on wildlife for National Park Service and the University of Arizona Press. Twelve of his paintings are published as calendars each year and he is also a con-tributer to calendars by Weyerhaeuser and Gulf Oil. He was the winner of Washington State's Upland Bird Stamp competition in 1984 and was the Washington Ducks Unlimited "Artist of the Year" in 1985. In 2004, the Pierce County Arts Commission gave Thompson the Margaret K. Williams Award for Excellence in the Arts.
Dale Thompson was a featured artist at the first and fifth Annual Pacific Rim Wildlife Art Show.
It is his hope that "through enjoyment of my artwork, people will become more aware of the beauty, importance, and fragility of the other living things that accompany us on Planet Earth."
