Nature does It :: Environmental and Health Concerns

Nature Does It
by author Denise Knabe Photos by Edmond Fong

Robert Bateman is not only an internationally acclaimed Canadian artist who paints wildlife, he also has a high profile as a conservationist, environmentalist, and naturalist. Bateman lives by his convictions–caring for the planet, for his art, and for his own and his loved ones’ health, naturally.

Bateman spoke to me from his studio on Salt Spring Island, BC. He explained that while painting, he uses a speakerphone; he does not use a headset. Vigilant of health matters, he told me that the electromagnetic frequencies headsets emit are harmful. The speakerphone allowed me to hear him rinse a brush with a sluicing sound as he spoke.

On the Origins of His Style

Bateman started his career as a high school art and geography teacher, and even did specimen collection for natural history museums at one point. Once he found he could make a living by painting, he followed his heart. Until the age of 35, he gave away his art.

He explained to me the origins of his signature realistic style. In 1962 he viewed an exhibition of the works of Andrew Wyeth, a well-known American realist painter. It was an epiphany for Bateman, who had toyed with abstract art while trying to stay au courant. At the same time, he was an ardent naturalist. He saw then that depicting nature demanded realism and specificity. This detailed style, in his opinion, is the only way to depict nature. Now a prolific artist, he often works on half a dozen paintings simultaneously.

On a Healthy, Organic Diet

Asked if he is a vegetarian or a vegan, Bateman replied, “No, Homo sapiens have been omnivorous for most of our evolution. We prefer to eat a balanced diet of both plant and animal proteins.”

Bateman and his family eat salmon, often canned salmon because it is invariably wild, every other day for lunch; they eat very little beef, preferring fish and fowl. They also eat organically grown produce–locally grown, when available–and keep an organic garden, which includes native plants and heritage roses. They buy locally as often as possible.

He and his family use some herbal remedies and take “quite a lot” of vitamin and mineral supplements, such as vitamin C, and they take supplements to prevent or lessen the symptoms of colds or flu.

On a Green Home

The current Bateman home on Salt Spring Island is geothermally heated. Although the initial cost for a geothermal system is high, he hopes to encourage others to use similar heating systems. The costs will decrease as more people invest in these cleaner systems.

Their first home on Salt Spring had some solar heating, some wind power, and some water power, but it wasn’t enough for all the electrical requirements.

They compost for their garden, and they recycle all glass, plastic, and cardboard to local recycling depots. Artists can be exposed to potentially harmful chemicals while painting; having read an article in alive magazine (January 2006) on how plants naturally help cleanse the air, the Batemans expanded the collection of houseplants in their studio. Bateman paints with acrylics, which he feels are less harmful than oil paints; the fumes from conventional oil paints can be toxic.

On the Power of Nature

When Bateman and his wife Birgit both worked as high school teachers, they were able to take young people on two-week-long nature treks in the Ontario wilderness. Bateman remarked that some of the teenage boys started these treks as “idiotic yahoos,” tripping other kids and being general troublemakers. But something changed for them a few days into the field trips: these selfsame troublemakers were transformed, and he saw them become helpful to other youngsters who were not as strong as they were.

When asked what he thought caused this marvellous transformation from brat to caring individual, Bateman commented, “Nature does it. When these kids are out in the wilderness, they have to care if it rains, they have to care if there are mosquitoes–they have to care.”

On Environmental Stewardship

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Denise Knabe is a BC researcher and writer.

Source: alive #288, October 2006

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