The art of flight

The Huntington Museum of Art will offer a class entitled "Birds in Art."  It will be for individuals with experience in drawing and painting.

Chuck Ripper, a freelance wildlife illustrator from Huntington, will be teaching the class and instructing on the body structure and feather patterns of birds.

Ripper is famous for his wildlife illustrations and stamp art works.

He moved to Huntington in 1953 with his wife and became the art director for Standard Printing and Publishing Co., according  to a news release provided by John Gillispie.  During this time, he wrote and illustrated 11 nature books for children, with subjects ranging from bats to woodchucks.  He has designed a total of 80 stamps for the U.S. Postal Service.

Eighty percent of the work he has done over the years has been with birds, Ripper said, but if you want to stay busy you have to do work with other animals.

"When I would see my mother in Fort Myers, we would count birds while going fishing during the daytime," Ripper said.  "Even when I'm going down the highway, I'm counting all the birds."

"I enjoy painting in watercolor but will let the students use whatever medium they are most comfortable with," Ripper said.

Ripper's work has been shown in museums across the U.S., including the Norman Rockwell Museum of Illustration, National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C. and the Denver Museum of Natural History.

"It's a chance for me to share what I have figured out over the years and it is a opportunity for people to get some help with their talent," Ripper said. "There aren't too many art studios that offer this sort of class around the Huntington area."

John Gillispie, the museum's public relations director, said he is happy to have Ripper teaching at the museum.

"He has drawn so many different types of animals but birds are his favorite, and I think that him focusing on what he enjoys will help make the class fun," Gillispie said. "Chuck is a great guy and very successful wildlife illustrator, and I think people will enjoy being able to spend time in the classroom."

Gillispie said he anticipates the class will be very popular.

"We wanted to show people the wildlife from our trail, and he did illustrations of the birds and butterflies you will see on the trail," Gillispie said.

The class will be Tuesdays from Feb. 16 to March 23.

To register for the class, contact Brad Boston at the Huntington Museum of Art's Education Department.

   John Yeingst can be contacted at yeingst@marshall.edu.