Best Shoes for Safari Artists: A Conversation with Hamish Mackie
Hamish Mackie, pictured in our Eduardo sneakers, is a British wildlife sculptor. Considered to be one of the world's foremost wildlife sculptors, his pieces capture and interpret instinctive moments of animal behaviour.
For our Friends of SM piece this month, we spoke to Hamish about his style, bronze and all things wildlife.
How did you come to be a sculptor? When did it all begin?
I’ve always loved making things and was lucky to have good art teachers at school. I used to sculpt little clay animals we had on the farm from about the age of 9. I sold my A-level exam piece for £50 (to my delight!), which was later cast into bronze. Simon Alliso, who owned the bronze foundry, which I still use, offered to back me when he saw it. It then failed to get into the RA summer exhibition, but it introduced me to the world of bronze. I was 19.
Could you give an overview of what your work is all about?
It’s a passion which turned into a way of making a living. My sculptures are anatomically correct but also dynamic, hopefully getting behind what makes the subject what it is. It’s about more than shape. I make the originals mostly out of clay, over an armature, which are then cast into bronze, sometimes silver. Using the ancient lost wax method. I’ve also made some jewellery out of gold.
What is it about observing your subject’s behaviour and movement in its natural habitat that is so important to you and your work?
Firstly, it's brilliant to be able to watch wildlife in its natural habitat; it’s a real inspiration and gives a much clearer idea of what they are about and why. Nowadays, with modern technology, it’s also so much easier to bring all this information back to a more controlled studio environment. I once had a vervet monkey steal a beeswax cheetah head in Kenya. We got it back by throwing sticks at the monkey, now eating it in a tree. I cast this sculpture with the teeth marks.
I have had a wild elephant stick its trunk in the back of a Land Cruiser when I was sculpting. I could feel its prehistoric rumble. Only sculpting in the open air brings this connection.
Secondly, I hope to spread the need for conservation to preserve these wild places for future generations.
Texture is prevalent in a lot of your work. What is it that draws you to this style?
I love the fact that Lockbund foundry is capable of casting a fingerprint into bronze. It’s one thing for me to stick my finger in soft, wet clay, another to reproduce this in a cold, hard metal. So I take full advantage!
If you could sit at dinner with two people on either side of you (dead or alive), who would you choose and why?
Obviously, Rodin, who is one of my favourite sculptors, so I could try and persuade him to teach me. Ian Douglas Hamilton as I’d love to pick his brains about my favourite animal, elephants.
What advice would you give to yourself when you were starting out as a sculptor?
Work hard and keep going. If it’s not right, change it. Be commercial to start; this can then fund more exploratory ideas later.
What’s next for you? Is there anything coming up that you’re excited about?
I am heading to Tanzania with Nomad Safaris in March. I haven’t been back to Africa since pre-COVID, so this is seriously exciting.
SHOP HAMISH'S LOOK
Hamish's well-worn Eduardos after a long Safari trip spent in them!
If you are looking for best shoes for safari artists, shop now to find shoes that won't compromising on your comfort.
