Jim Moir to exhibit at Lady Lever Art Gallery this summer

Artist and comedian Jim Moir will stage an exhibition of his acclaimed bird paintings at the Lady Lever Art Gallery this summer.

Dawn to Dusk: Birds by Jim Moir will be at the Port Sunlight gallery from June 14 to November 2.

Moir studied at Sir John Cass Art School in London before becoming a huge comedy star under his stage name Vic Reeves and alongside Bob Mortimer.

But the son of a woodturner father and painter mother says his first love was always art. He achieved his first taste of success when, aged 10, he won a competition on a cornflakes box by painting a combine harvester.

Over the past two decades he has rekindled his passion, creating bold and vibrant – and often surreal – artworks which merge his interest in the natural world with his eccentric and witty imagination.

He has also become particularly noted for his exquisite paintings of birds, leading to him being dubbed ‘the Warhol of bird paintings’ with Chris Packham describing how the 66-year-old “doesn’t just see birds, he looks at them so intensely that he understands them.”

Moir previously exhibited locally at the Bluecoat alongside his wife Nancy.

Now fans of the Sky Arts series Painting Birds with Jim and Nancy Moir will be able to see around 45 of his original artworks close up the Lady Lever, with some created exclusively for this exhibition and many of them also available to buy.

Above: Raven 2 courtesy of Jim Moir. Top: Moir outside the Lady Lever Art Gallery. Photo by Pete Carr.

From garden birds to seabirds, Dawn to Dusk celebrates the magic and majesty of many of the UK’s most-loved feathered friends, inviting us to appreciate their brilliance and importance through the beauty of paint.

Moir said: “It’s an honour to be exhibiting at Lady Lever; a truly unique gallery that’s brimming with masterpieces. The process of working with the team at National Museums Liverpool has been a greatly enjoyable one and I’m very much looking forward to sharing the finished exhibition with visitors.”

And Dave Moffat, Assistant Curator of Decorative Art at National Museums Liverpool, added: “Moir’s paintings are unmistakably his; his passion for birds is visible in every brushstroke, along with his knowledge of each species.

“He studies each bird before painting it, allowing him to capture their character and quirks with his own unique blend of precision and wonder. The exhibition presents a joyful and imaginative study of British birds.”

Dawn to Dusk: Birds by Jim Moir is at the Lady Lever Art Gallery from June 14 to November 2.