Juan Varela (Madrid, Spain, 1950) is a

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

and Wildlife Artist. Born in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

where he studied Biology and obtained a master's degree with his studies on seabird behavior. Until 1980 he worked on seabird research in gull colonies off the African north coast. At the same time, he did scientific illustration for nature magazines and encyclopedias. He was the main illustrator of the Spanish well known nature film maker and writer Felix Rodriguez de la Fuente. In 1986, Varela was appointed as Director of the

Spanish Ornithological Society The Spanish Ornithological Society (in Spanish: Sociedad Española de Ornitología; SEO/BirdLife) is Spain's main bird conservation charity. It was founded in 1954 and has 8,000 members and 50 staff. It is Spain's representative in the BirdLife ...

a post that he occupied until 1990 when he started to dedicate more time to art, eventually making of this a full-time job. He was co-founder of the Mediterranean seabird association that for many years contributed to the conservation of

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

of the Mediterranean basin. As an active Council member he participated in the organization of international symposium and congress in Spain, Italy and Tunisia. In 1992 he started to cooperate with the Artist for Nature Foundation, a Dutch-based group involved in nature conservation through art, participating in several projects in different countries (i.e. Peru, Ecuador, Spain, Alaska, Portugal, Israel, etc.). He is the official representative of ANF in Spain. He has published 20 books, amongst them 2 identification field guides on birds and mammals and a students' manual on nature drawing. His paintings have been exhibited in galleries and museums of UK, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Portugal and USA, and his work was selected by the jury of the Birds in Art show (Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin). Varela is considered by many one of the founders of the modern Wildlife Art in Spain and he has contributed to its development with his teaching.(Spanish) Un curso de la UGR enseña a los alumnos a realizar pinturas e ilustraciones de animales. ''Universidad de Granada''
A great part of his paintings are produced on site, through direct observation of animals in their environment, but the studio work is also based on field sketches.

Publications

*1980 - ''Todavía Vivo'' (Penthalon) *1982 - ''Las Especies de Caza'' (INCAFO) *1996 - ''El Calendario de la Vida'' (Espasa Calpe) *1996 - ''Naturaleza Amenazada''. 3 Vol. (SEO/BirdLife-Banco Central Hispano) *1997 - ''Dibujar la Naturaleza'' (Ed. Serbal) *1998 - ''Les Terres de Baliar'' (Sa Nostra) *1998 - ''Los Paisajes del Tiempo'' (Tribuna) *1998 - ''Los Paisajes de la Vida'' Colección de 12 CDs. (Tribuna.) *2000 - ''Guía de las Aves de España'' (Lynx Ed.) *2002 - ''Guía de los Mamíferos de España'' (Lynx Ed.) *2004 - ''Arte del Aire'' (Lynx Ed.) *2006 - ''Hace Millones de Años'' / Animales SL. (Círculo Digital) *2006 - ''La Era de los Dinosaurios'' / Animales SL. (Círculo Digital) *2006 - ''Microcosmos'' / Animales SL. (Círculo Digital) *2006 - ''Enredados'' / Animales SL. (Círculo Digital) *2006 - ''Extraños en el Mar'' / Animales SL (Círculo Digital) *2007 - ''Aves Amenazadas de España'' (Lynx) *2010 - ''Entre Mar y Tierra / Between sea and land'' (Lynx) *2011 - "Las Aves en el Museo del Prado" (SEO/BirdLife) *2012 - ''El Calendario de la Vida'' (Tundra Ed.)

External links

Artist for NatureSEO/BirdLifeL. Y. Woodson Art MuseumJuan Varela

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Varela, Juan 20th-century Spanish painters 20th-century Spanish male artists Spanish male painters 21st-century Spanish painters Bird artists 1950 births Living people 21st-century Spanish male artists