Featured Artist:
Ron Louque
Painter
Born in New Orleans, LA in 1952, Ron Louque (pronounced Luke) began the study of nature at an early age. As a youngster in south Louisiana, he was introduced to the beauties of nature through hunting and fishing, and by age nine he was enrolled in a taxidermy correspondence course. This art-form became a passion for the young outdoorsman and soon led him deeper into the world of birds and animals that lived in the surrounding swamps of his bayou homeland. While mount in hundred's of specimens during his teenage years, Louque's interest in the natural world continued, and eventually he began his formal study of nature in college. He entered Louisiana State University as a wildlife biology major in 1970, but soon switched to zoology and ornithology which were more specific to his interest....Birds.
Louque's introduction to art came in 1972 through the curator of the L.S.U. Museum of Natural History. Later he was introduced to two artist-ornithologists John O'Neill and Douglas Pratt who were zoology graduate students as well as proficient bird painters. From them he learned the important techniques of bird illustration which have led him to his current status as a world champion waterfowl stamp artist. Later he met the famous internationally acclaimed Russian-German realist artist, Adolf Sehring who was instrumental in helping him to understand the importance of light and composition in his paintings. Landscape master Dalhart Windberg has warmly praised Louque for his proficiency as seen in the refined technique of his paintings.
In 1974 Louque began his career as a professional artist. He was immediately seen as the new "Audubon", French-Cajun style, and his early work reflects that influence. His paintings, combining anatomical accuracy as well as sheer beauty, led to his becoming one of the top five duck and conservation stamp artists in the nation.
In 1973 Louque spent three months camping in the remote areas of the Peruvian Andes with ornithologist-artist John O'Neill during...
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