Chip Davenport is a 30 year old artist who has been interested in art and wildlife since he was a young boy. Fishing was a hobby of his as a kid and he would draw the fish to learn to identify them. From there it grew into a passion for all of nature and in particular, birds.

He is a graduate of Bristol Community College class of 1996. While in school, he was the assistant editor of the BCC Observer where a column called Drawing Upon Nature was a monthly feature. ?I wrote and illustrated articles about nature subjects with the intention of educating people about wildlife.? says the young artist. As well, Chip was the art editor of the Prevailing Wind literary magazine where his painting of a Dark-eyed Junco was chosen for the 1996 edition cover.

In June 1997, Chip had his first one-person show at the Lloyd Center for Environmental Studies called ?Birds in Town? which featured works of birds found within the artist's home town of Acushnet, Massachusetts. ?With these paintings I tried to show that one does not need to travel to exotic places to find interesting wildlife and I?m a firm believer that conservation starts at home,? he explains.

Chip works in a variety of media from somewhat large acrylic and oil paintings to small intimate watercolor portraits and has a certain passion for drawing. North American birds and other native wildlife are his main subjects. He says, ?I am on a personal level with our wildlife. When I?m birding, or sketching in the field, I feel enveloped by them and I think that kind of immersion is important for an artist?.