"Sugaring Off" by Maine artist, Persis Clayton Weirs. Framed, signed, limited edition (#290/950), print. Donated by Bayview Gallery in Camden and Brunswick, Maine. Includes a certificate of authenticity. Framed size: 34 3/4" wide x 26 1/2" tall.

Persis Clayton Weirs

For Persis Weirs, becoming a wildlife artist seemed only natural. Born on an island on the Maine coast, she enjoyed summers on the island and spent winters along the Maine coast where wildlife flourished.

Persis had no formal training in art, but rather she developed her skills through close observation of the animals and wildlife around her home. She began drawing as a child, concentrating mainly on horses and expanding to include the wide variety of animals such as dogs, cats, raccoons, birds, fox and many others. "Drawing and painting them was unavoidable," she says. Her father also taught his children the characteristics and beauty of the animals and their surrounding habitat.

She began painting horses seriously at age 23 and was soon commissioned to paint portraits of champion show horses and race horses. She continued to do other animal portraits for the next 12 years. In addition, she illustrated two books on Paso Fino horses.

By the early 80's, Persis began to turn her attention to wildlife art and found a very receptive audience for her work. She has exhibited in annual art shows in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.; Fredricksburg and Middleburg, Virginia; and the Washington International Horse Show, as well as galleries in St. Louis, Missouri and Fredricksburg, Virginia. Her work was recently featured in Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum's "Birds in Art" Exhibition in Wausau, Wisconsin, and her original was selected to go on the international tour to Beijing, China. She has also exhibited at the "Wildlife ‘85" and "Wildlife ‘86" shows in the Bayview Gallery in Portland, Maine, and in "Miniatures '86 - ‘91" in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Over 500 of her original paintings are in private collections across the country.

Persis and her family currently reside on Deer Isle in Penobscot Bay where wildlife thrives in abundance. She enjoys hiking through the woods or walking along the shoreline in search of ideas for her paintings. As an artist, she hopes "to share through my work my respect for wildlife and my sense of responsibility for the quality of the environment. If my paintings can pass on to others just a fraction of the pleasure and fascination I find in nature, then I have succeeded."