John Costin

A resident of Tampa, FL, John Costin captures in visual form the rich and diverse bird life using the etching process. With a background in contemporary art, he creates life size images of birds that explore nuances indigenous to that species. "Through my art I strive to capture and personify birds, enriching the viewer’s perception of this particular form of wildlife. The birds are presented in such a way that they are aware of the viewer’s presence and react to that confrontation. Their reaction reveals unique traits to the viewer, adding another level of understanding. Ultimately one’s sensitivity and awareness of these natural wonders could lead to a more profound perception of the world we all share.” John has been a professional artist since 1979, exhibiting in numerous exhibits/shows and has won numerous awards. His work can be found in the private and corporate collections including the State Library of Florida, the University of Miami, and Raymond James Financial, Inc. to name a few. He recently completed an elephant portfolio book “Large Florida Birds”; a collection 20 etchings depicting birds life size.

John Costin captures, in visual form, the rich and diverse bird life of Florida using the etching process. With a background in contemporary art, he creates life-size images of birds that explore nuances indigenous to that species. "Through my art I strive to capture and personify birds, enriching the viewer's perception of this particular form of wildlife. The birds are presented in such a way that they are aware of the viewer's presence and react to that confrontation. Their reaction reveals unique traits to the viewer, adding another level of understanding. Ultimately one's sensitivity and awareness of these natural wonders could lead to a more profound perception of the world we all share." John has been a professional artist since 1979, exhibiting in numerous exhibits/shows and has won numerous awards. His work can be found in the private and corporate collections including the State Library of Florida, the University of Miami, and Raymond James Financial, Inc., to name a few. He recently completed an elephant portfolio book Large Florida Birds; a collection of 20 etchings depicting birds life-size.

John Costin captures, in visual form, the rich and diverse bird life of Florida using the etching process. With a background in contemporary art, he creates life size images of birds that explore nuances indigenous to that species. "Through my art I strive to capture and personify birds, enriching the viewer's perception of this particular form of wildlife. The birds are presented in such a way that they are aware of the viewer's presence and react to that confrontation. Their reaction reveals unique traits to the viewer, adding another level of understanding. Ultimately one's sensitivity and awareness of these natural wonders could lead to a more profound perception of the world we all share." John has been a professional artist since 1979, exhibiting in numerous exhibits/shows and has won numerous awards. His work can be found in the private and corporate collections including the State Library of Florida, the University of Miami, and Raymond James Financial, Inc., to name a few. He recently completed an elephant portfolio book Large Florida Birds; a collection of 20 etchings depicting birds life size.

Costin captures, in visual form, the rich and diverse bird life of Florida using the etching process. With a background in contemporary art, he creates life size images of birds that explore nuances indigenous to that species. "Through my art I strive to capture and personify birds, enriching the viewer's perception of this particular form of wildlife. The birds are presented in such a way that they are aware of the viewer's presence and react to that confrontation. Their reaction reveals unique traits to the viewer, adding another level of understanding. Ultimately one's sensitivity and awareness of these natural wonders could lead to a more profound perception of the world we all share."

John Costin visually captures in hand-colored etchings the rich and diverse bird life of Florida. He creates life-size images of birds that explore the nuances particular to the species. "Through my art I strive to capture and personify birds, enriching the viewer 's perception of this particular form of wildlife. The birds are presented in such a way that they are aware of the viewer's presence and react to that confrontation. Their reaction reveals unique traits to the viewer, adding another level of understanding. Ultimately one's sensitivity and awareness of these natural wonders could lead to a more profound perception of the world we all share." John's work can be found in public and private collections.

Tampa resident, John Costin visually captures in hand-colored etchings the rich and diverse bird life of Florida. He creates life-size images of birds that explore the nuances particular to the species. “Through my art I strive to capture and personify birds, enriching the viewer’s perception of this particular form of wildlife. The birds are presented in such a way that they are aware of the viewer’s presence and react to that confrontation. Their reaction reveals unique traits to the viewer, adding another level of understanding. Ultimately one’s sensitivity and awareness of these natural wonders could lead to a more profound perception of the world we all share.” John’s work can be found in public and private collections. Currently, he is creating a book of etchings depicting large birds of Florida, which is registered with the Library of Congress; the etching at left (Red Shouldered Hawk) is the final installment in this book.

A resident of Tampa, John Costin’s etchings capture in visual form the rich and diverse bird life of Florida. He creates life size images of birds that explore nuances unique to that species. Through my art I strive to capture and personify birds, enriching the viewer’s perception of this particular form of wildlife. The birds are presented in such a way that they are aware of the viewer’s presence and react to that confrontation. Their reaction reveals unique traits to the viewer, adding another level of understanding. Ultimately one’s sensitivity and awareness of these natural wonders could lead to a more profound perception of the world we all share. His work can be found in public and private collections. Currently, he is creating a book of etchings depicting large birds of Florida, which is registered with the Library of Congress.

The merging of my art and interest in birds began around 1988 with a series of small etchings of herons and egrets. Prior to that, my main interest was contemporary modern art, which I still use as a source of visual ideas. One of my goals is to transform the traditional perception of birds in nature, “traditional realism,” and give it more of a contemporary familiarity. I strive to capture and personify each species, enriching the viewer’s perception of this particular form of wildlife. Many are presented life size to give the viewer an experience of immediacy that would be similar to a confrontation in the wild. Ultimately one’s sensitivity and awareness of these natural wonders could lead to a more profound perception of the world we all share.

The merging of my art and interest in birds began around 1988 with a series of small etchings of herons and egrets. Prior to that, my main interest was contemporary modern art, which I still use as a source of visual ideas. One of my goals is to transform the traditional perception of birds in nature, “traditional realism,” that we are most familiar with and give it more of a contemporary familiarity. Through the bird etchings I strive to capture and personify each species, enriching the viewer’s perception of this particular form of wildlife. Many are presented life size to give the viewer an experience of immediacy that would be similar to a confrontation in the wild. Ultimately one’s sensitivity and awareness of these natural wonders could lead to a more profound perception of the world we all share. A resident of Tampa, Florida, John Costin has been a professional artist since 1979. His work can be found in various public and private collections throughout Florida and the country. Currently, he is creating a book of etchings depicting large birds of Florida, which is registered with the Library of Congress.

Through my art I strive to capture and personify birds, enriching the viewer’s perception of this particular form of wildlife which they may rarely have an opportunity to intimately experience. A unique aspect of my work is that the birds are depicted life size giving the viewer a sense of what these birds are like in the real world. The birds are aware of the viewer’s presence and react to that confrontation. This reaction reveals unique traits to the viewer, adding another level of experience. Ultimately, one’s sensitivity and awareness of these natural wonders could lead to a more profound perception of the world we all share. My process involves creating a hand-crafted image on paper by using an old world etching technique. Specifically, the image is painstakingly hand drawn and etched on the surface of several copper plates. Various inks are then hand applied to each plate surface. This makes the printing process very complex, for the different plates need to align accurately to print a high quality image on rag paper. The piece is then meticulously finished by hand applying oil colors with a paint brush. The result is an etching with intricate detail and vibrant coloration.