Peter Harrison discusses creating the book’s art plates

The art plates are the very heart and soul of the book. Whenever I’m painting a bird, my number one priority is to bring that bird, that figure that’s on the page, to life. If I’m painting a towering Gadfly Petrel, I want the seabirder to feel the tightness of its bent and angled wings as it careens over the ocean in its wild, impetuous flight—the so called ‘winged runners’. Conversely, if I am painting a White-faced Storm Petrel, with its trailing legs and frequent splash downs, it should have the feel of a dancing butterfly in a flower-filled August garden.