Biography of Artist
After several years at art school in England, Barry Flahey began his career in Fine Arts as a technical artist in aviation, followed by an interesting period as an artist in the Middle East. Seeking further adventures and subjects to paint, he came to Canada in 1970. He is presently a scientific artist with the Research Branch of Agriculture Canada, department of Entomology, where he draws and paints insects viewed through microscopes. He also illustrates plants in pen and ink and colour in the field, or from herbarium specimens for the Botany Department. The prerequisites of this detailed and exacting work, plus skills formulated as a technical artist, have provided Barry with the ideal background for nature and landscape art. Being a purist, and having worked in all media, he prefers the unforgiving qualities of transparent watercolour to achieve the ultimate softness of mood, atmosphere and light. Many of Barry's watercolours and pen and ink drawings have won national and international awards at juried exhibitions in Canada and the United States. Several of his paintings commissioned while he was in the Middle East are prized by members of the Saudi Royal family. He has illustrated books and scientific journals. Several of his paintings have been reproduced to raise funds for the new visitors centre in Ontario's Algonquin Park. His whimsical entomological note cards and posters are extremely popular with scientists and people with an interest in insects in general. He now has an international following. Examples of these works can be found at www.magma.ca/~bflahey/y2k/y2khome.htm The highlight of his artistic endeavours was a two month photography and painting expedition to Canada's high arctic, an adventure which has provided a major source of inspiration for present and future works , an example shown here is a limited edition print entitled "Arctic Guardian" A month long exhibition of Barry's insect paintings, entitled "Beauty of the Insect World", was held at the Museum of Natural Sciences in Ottawa. He has had shows at the Ottawa City Hall Gallery, The Algonquin Provincial Park Visitor Centre Gallery and the Montreal Insectarium. He has participated in many group shows, including two travelling exhibits, co-sponsored by the National Museum of Nature and the Canadian Wildlife Federation, that visited many cities across Canada. For the past two decades Barry has been working on a series of paintings depicting the wildlife and scenery of Algonquin's Provincial Park, an area he has grown to love and respect. When not painting and drawing, his remaining spare time is spent on photography, kayaking and camping.