Canadian naturalist and painter Robert Bateman was born in Toronto, Canada, on May 24, 1930. Since childhood, he has been interested in wildlife and art. He was initially inspired by the famous “Group of Seven”, a club of Canadian “realist” painters. Batman has mastered the art of beautifully depicting nature and wildlife on canvas. While he began his artistic mission by creating “abstract” paintings of nature, he transitioned to “realism” in the 1960s. His focus was mostly on depicting beauty in its original form, for which he traveled extensively and used his keen ability of observation to accurately depict various aspects of nature. One of the methods that Bateman applied while illustrating his work was by clicking on images and using them as models for his creations. Robert Bateman achieved an iconic breakthrough with his work “Midnight Black Wolf”.
While Pittman also drew and sketched people and activities, in one of his interviews he indicated that drawing people was as easy as sitting down and eating popcorn for him. He also said that drawing wildlife presents more challenges due to it being a very diverse exploration area. One of Robert’s most famous paintings, as mentioned above, is the “Midnight Black Wolf” which depicts a black wolf against a black background. Other famous Batman works include “Lawrence of Arabia”, “Lost Wildebeest”, “White Encounter-Bear Polar”, “Cardinal in Smack”, “Beach Grass and the Tree Frog”, “The Raven Clan”, “Tadpole Time”, “Terrible Land-American Elk” and “Screams of Adventure”.
Speaking of “The Midnight Black Wolf”, Bateman himself says he wanted to “show the ominous presence of a mature lone wolf”, creating a general atmosphere of respect and seriousness about the animal, but not one of menace. From an artist’s perspective, Bateman said he found it very difficult to depict “a black animal against an almost black background”. Looking back, even though Bateman became an art/geography teacher in high school, he never stopped drawing throughout his career. However, it was not until the 1970s and 1980s that his paintings and talent began to gain recognition. His work began to gain popularity over time. Bateman has about a dozen books based solely on his paintings. He has been criticized for his decision to allow his work to be copied, by people who believe the act devalues the real art market. However, these copies have been very popular and are sold at print fairs in Canada and internationally. Even today, Robert Bateman continues to paint beautiful woodland scenes. He has carved a niche for himself in the art world with his remarkable paintings, which depict nature and wildlife such as “Midnight Black Wolf.”