Birds

by Jim Moir

Jim Moir loves birds. His popularity as a painter has soared in recent years and the simplicity and sincerity of his bird paintings have given them cult status among his fans. Now, for the first time, one hundred of these beautiful paintings are gathered together in this exquisite book. It is a book to remind us why we love because of the shapes, movement, colours and sounds they bring into our lives.

Genres: Art, Animals

227 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2022

Reviews

[Leonie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful paintings of birds. I'm very glad I backed this project on Unbound.

[Judith van Wijk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous artwork and very funny facts.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book! Bought it today after a walk around WWT Martin Mere. Best described as a small coffee table book. Each double page consists of one of Jim’s paintings and a short informative and intriguing piece about the bird.

[Simon Bardwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book with fascinating pictures and facts about each bird.

[Jayne Hood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book , brilliant illustrations, and very interesting facts

[Chris Sudall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book for my friend Caz and thought I'd have a cheeky flick through.
Well...I was entranced! I was expecting averagely painted birds with their names below. Not at all, Jim/Vic has an eye for the birds (heheh) and his images are detailed, recognisable and beautifully painted. In addition each bird comes with some interesting facts. Many of which are amusing and I found myself Googling them to see if they were just figments of his surreal imagination! But no! They are true! And sourced!
Obviously it's a short read, but highly recommended. I loved it.

[Louise Bath · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful, chunky little book filled with gorgeous watercolour paintings of 100 of our native British birds, each with a short paragraph of information about them. Although the painting of the bittern on p9 looks like something out of an H P Lovecraft story, and I'm not convinced of some of its alternative names...

Having seen the recent TV series in which Jim Moir and his wife Nancy travelled around Britain meeting fellow ornithologist artists, it's a pleasure to be able to appreciate some of his techniques in more detail, such as allowing water and gravity to "do all the work." It's also clear to see how effective Moir's method of scattering salt into painted areas is at adding texture.

My only issue with this book is the brief paragraphs of information on each bird that accompany the paintings. Maybe it's because Moir *is* the man behind Vic Reeves; but I didn't always believe the information given or the vernacular names of certain birds!

[Andrew Ives · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of 100 of Jim Moir's bird watercolours, arranged in alphabetical order, with a paragraph about each of the British birds featured. As such, it's a fairly lightweight read, but often interesting or amusing. The paintings themselves range from absolute masterpieces (the common tern, the peregrine falcon) to some really quite ropey sketches that hardly look finished (the waxwing, the turnstone), but on the whole they are rather pleasing. A relaxing, pleasant and mildly educational book, that feels a little lightweight when compared to Victorian equivalents, such as Gould's. 4.25/5

[Karen Mace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful collection of paintings from Jim along with some quirky facts about the various birds.

Sorted in alphabetical order, it takes you through a wide range of birds and he really captures the birds so well in stunning detail and I loved flicking through each page. It's a book to be enjoyed by fellow bird enthusiasts, as well as fans of the man himself!! A very talented artist too it seems as well as comedian!

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming collection of 100 iconic British birds, illustrated by the hand of Vic Reece’s pseudonym, Jim Moir.
Each painting is accompanied by a factual tidbit, making it a perfect stocking-filler for the nature lover in your life.

[Grebbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful. Published 2022.

[Philip Curran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfect table book , beautiful pictures and little facts about each bird. Will enjoy dipping into it again and again.

[Andi Chorley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful paintings of British birds from Jim Noir aka Vic Reeves with interesting and surprising facts about them alongside.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful paintings. Interesting facts.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful little meditative book. A joy to dip into repeatedly. I can almost feel Vic Reeves’ surreal humour and take on life permeate these paintings.

[Tweedledum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely paint8ngs, fascinat8ng facts about each bird. A great combination.