Olly Williams and Suzi Winstanley, known in the art world as Olly & Suzi, are artists who play by their own rules. For them, no experience, no art. And by painting animals on site, in the wild, for 21 years, they have had experiences most of us can only dream of; tracking lions in Namibia, swimming with predatory leopard seals in Antarctica and, most recently, getting up close and personal with African wild dogs in Tanzania. But it's not only their quest to inhabit some of the most remote parts of the world and capture a moment with some of the animals most at risk from extinction that makes them special, they also paint as one: on the same paper, with the same brush, at the same time.
Their loyal band of collectors, which includes Damien Hirst ("he bought a shark from us, which is interesting; he kills them and we draw them," says Suzi), pay up to £10,000 for a large painting. Now, their work is being explored in a new documentary, Wild Art: Olly & Suzi Paint Predators, which kicks off this year's BBC 4 Storyville series on 2 February. It's a fascinating look at a partnership which began when they were both studying print-making at Central St Martin's College of Art and Design. Olly did rude doodles in Suzi's sketchbook and that was it, they decided they wanted to work together forever. To the consternation of their tutors, they even insisted on graduating with a joint degree.
At first the two 40-year-olds seem like polar opposites: Olly is a larger-than-life character, an ex-bouncer who boxes and has always been keen on the wilderness (he even named his daughter Kora after a game reserve in Kenya), while Suzi, who lives with long-term partner Damon Albarn, is petite with wild springy hair and admits to being obsessed by music. Yet after 55 expeditions, "80 years' experience between them", and three months out of every 12 spent in the wild, it's no wonder that they finish each other's sentences, just as they finish each other's marks in their artworks.
"We take what we do really seriously and have such a bond, but we don't take ourselves seriously and we have a real giggle," enthuses Suzi. "What's lovely is that we've both got our other parts of our lives and we've still got each other. We go out there to make a visual representation of what we're seeing and learning about." Olly adds. "We've revisited some of the species several times and when you look beyond the veneer of what a beautiful animal it is, you start to understand the importance of the conservationist and protecting the species. Tribal issues, pastoral issues, land issues; the whole lot becomes encompassed in one animal."
Their work is a mix of pencil sketches, bold acrylics and watercolours with added marks made from whatever materials they can find around them – sand, mud, berry sap and even the subjects themselves, who are encouraged to take a bite of, or add a paw print to, the finished piece. Whether it's a great white shark chewing off a corner of an artwork taking Suzi's signature with it, a crocodile straight from the creek, slithering across a painting, or a lion lazily lying sprawled out across the canvas, the animals often leave their own unique print. "We started letting the animals make their mark as proof of being there, but each mark is also beautiful for what it is," says Suzi.
By working together – and with the animals – they both surrender control of the artistic process. And the added fear factor that comes from being in the wild is just another part of what they do. They don't appear to have any fear and yet in the documentary Suzi confesses to becoming more scared of diving every time she does it. They sometimes paint underwater, lightning-fast sketches with one or two lines, while they try to keep up with whatever is swimming by.
In one part of the film, they're tracking rhino unarmed when the crew hear there are buffalo in the area and want to turn back, which they do, but for Olly and Suzi, who are used to such situations, it was the norm. Understandably, they're both pretty knowledgeable about the best ways to avoid being eaten. "If you push an interaction with an animal, either you'll get injured or they will," explains Olly. "What we've become expert in is knowing how near is near enough, and you just don't cross that line."
A stellar team was involved in making the film: cameraman Doug Harris (of Blue Planet fame), producer and wildlife photographer George Duffield and director and narrator Rupert Murray, who has known Olly and Suzi for years. He wanted to understand everything about their work and why they did it. "I feel that what they're doing is very human. They are trying to express what it's like to be in front of something wild. When we're confronted with that, it reminds us that the world is not a place designed for our comfort and use," reflects Murray. "It's timely in this age where we seem to be losing touch with the wilderness and it's disappearing at a faster rate than ever before."
It's ironic that Olly and Suzi's ongoing passion has become more topical over the years. For their first trip this year they're planning to revisit Nepal to draw Bengal tigers and help set up an anti-poaching tracking team but for now, they're finishing off a post-expedition, detailed series of large, arctic portraits. "For us, it's like gathering more information and making the work slightly more refined," says Suzi of the walrus pencil portrait they're currently painstakingly filling in. "Our work isn't meant to be groovy and urban; we're not setting out to do something that's the next big thing. Walruses are just beautiful, amazing creatures who are vulnerable and they need representing and bigging up."
'Wild Art: Olly & Suzi Paint Predators' is on BBC4 at 10pm on 2 February
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