Australian Geographic art calendars

AG picture editor Chrissie Goldrick gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the iconic AG Art Calendar.

LAUNCH THE GALLERY of selected Art Calendar past covers.

THE AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC ART Calendar has become an institution since it was first published way back in 1989 as the Collector's Edition Australian Geographic Society Calendar with paintings by Tony Oliver and captions by the well-known broadcaster Frank Avis.

Each year since, 13 original wildlife paintings have been commissioned from Australia's best wildlife artists including Clare Kaegi, Rod Scott, Kevin Stead and in recent years, Ego Guiotto.

Each calendar represents a year's worth of painstaking work from each of our talented artists, which includes detailed research of each subject, field photography to gather reference material, pencil sketches that are checked by experts and, finally, the finished artwork. There's always great excitement in the Australian Geographic office when a newly minted painting arrives at the office, which it does every three weeks or so throughout the year.

Over the years, the style of painting has evolved. In the early years, the scenes were crowded with many species of flora and fauna in a highly-representative scene. Today, they are more true to life and usually show just one species each.

The original medium has also moved on from mostly watercolour to gouache and acrylic. Perhaps the day will arrive when they are generated digitally. Who knows - but for now, we are proud to produce original art works of great beauty that celebrate and support so many of our native species.

Fundraising

The calendar is a vital source of funds for the Australian Geographic Society. $2 from each sale goes directly to support conservation efforts designed to assist many of the fascinating creatures that have graced the pages of the calendars during the past 22 years.

This year's calendar features the outstanding work of Ego Guiotto. He explores the function of colour in nature through some of our most brightly-hued animals, birds, fish and insects. The entertaining and informative captions are written by long-time AG contributor, Karen McGhee.

LAUNCH THE GALLERY of selected Australian Geographic Society Art Calendar covers from 1989 to 2010.

Purchase the 2011 Australian Geographic Art Calendar: Colour in nature.