Szabolcs Kókay

The limited edition giclée prints have arrived!

Thank you very much for your kind words!! It's fantastic to get such comments on my work!

Spotted Sandpipers by the Cooper-river in Alaska. Watercolour on paper. These remains of a pier belonged to a salmon canning farm. #watercolour #birdart #natureart #wildlifeart #sandpiper #alaska

A recent commission: 1st winter Ross's Gull (watercolour on paper). I would really love to see this species! #gull #birdart #natureart #wildlifeart #watercolour

Eurasian Thick-knee has always been a favourite subject for me. Here is a selection of my field sketches from the past (2006, 2014, 2016). #birdart #natureart #fieldsketch #wildlifeart #watercolour #thickknee

Thick-knee's population is down to 20 pairs in Hungary! I took the opportunity to check a flock of 35 birds on Friday. I could test a travelling brushset by the Spanish Escoda company. They were fantastic! Thank you for the gift: 'Úristen! Festek!" (My God! I'm painting!) (muveszellato-bolt.hu)!

And the last 2 paintings avialble on giclée prints: Peregrine Falcon studies and a hunting European Roller. #peregrine #falcon #falconart #birdart #natureart #wildlifeart #artprint

These 2 goose paintings are avilable on giclée prints. Both of them show 3 species. Greater and Lesser White-fronts and Red-breasted Geese. They are about to arrive to Hungary these days! #birdart #natureart #artprint #wildlifeart

8 bird of paradise paintings available on giclée prints: Vogelkop Lophorina, Lawes's Parotia, Blue BoP, Raggiana BoP, Brown Sicklebill, Stephanie's Astrapia, Magnificent BoP. #birdofparadise #birdart #natureart #artprint #wildlifeart

4 passerine watercolours: Gurney's Pitta, Ortolan Bunting (from the cover of the European Breeding Bird Atlas 2), and 2 Long-tailed Tits. All available on giclée prints. #gurneyspitta #ortolan #longtailedtit #natureart #birdart #artprint #watercolour #wildlifeart #giclée

4 mammal paintings available on prints: 3 Grey Wolves, inspired by an art project in Slovenia (I had an encounter shown on the first painting). My first ever European Wildcat inspired the last painting: found the remains of that woodpecker after seeing the cat, so I've imagined the hunting scene.

Hungary has the 2nd biggest Great Bustard population in Europe. There are a lot of people whose hard work secure their numbers. 2 prints are available: a study on the left, based on my observations during the covid period. The right one is a watercolour showing their intense mating behaviour.

Slender-billed Curlew has officially been declared extinct yesterday. I will treasure all these artworks from fellow artists even more, as a tribute to this bird! Anyone who has a sketch, pencil drawing, etc. of this species laying around, I'm interested to make a swap!

2 more shorebird paintings: a Spoon-billed watercolour study, based on my sightings in China in 2013. 2nd is an oil, titled 'We are all young' of various shorebirds observed in Hungary. I won the Swarovski/Birdwatch Artist of the Year prize with this in 2008. Both are available as giclée prints.

My all time favourite bird: the Slender-billed Curlew, that has recently declared to be extinct. The 1st is a watercolour, titled 'A new hope'. The 2nd is an oil, titled 'Alone', based on the exact habitat, where my friends observed a bird in 2001. Both paintings are available as giclée prints.

I'm sharing bigger versions of the available giclée prints. 2 owl artworks: Long-eared Owl watercolour and Blakiston's Fish-owl watercolour study (based on my experience on Hokkaido back in 2018).

I offer 20 % from the price of the limited edition giclée prints of these paintings till this Christmas. Available size and the new price: 60 x 80 cm (with 2-2,5 cm margin), limited to 45 copies, 125 EUR and 30 x 40 cm (with 2-2,5 cm margin), limited to 95 copies, 85 EUR. Message for details!

These latest 2 species completed my Godwit series: Marbled, Hudsonian, Bar-and-Black-tailed Godwits (I still need to see the Marbled). All are watercolour and gouache on paper.

Last in the godwit series: Black-tailed Godwit (watercolour and gouache on paper). #natureart #birdart #wildlifeart #godwit

New illustration: Bar-tailed Godwits (watercolour and gouache on paper). #birdart #birdillustration #shorebird #bartailedgodwit #natureart

Eurasian Dotterels on Hortobágy, watercolour on paper. It's the 25th birdwatchers's meeting in Hungary this weekend, this painting will be one of the prizes of the bird race of Saturday.

Still staying with shorebirds (my favourite bird group), here is a very special one, the Ibisbill. It's a high altitude species from the Himalayas. I was lucky having seen it in Ladakh. I share 2 watercolours and 1 oil painting.

Slender-billed Curlew is my ultimate favourite bird; here is a collection of my paintings and illustrations of it.

Another painting with the fieldwork behind it. Slender-billed Curlew with Eurasian Curlews. This species is sadly extinct. I could borrow a mounted specimen years ago, and study it in the natural habitat. The background of the painting is from the exact spot where one bird had been seen in 2001.

I'm self-taught, learning from other wildlife artists. Those had the greatest impact on me, who paint outdoors, so I've always followed their footsteps. An example: Pectoral Sandpiper field sketches ending up in an oil painting. I won the Swarovski/Birdwatch artist of the year price with it in 2008.

A privilege to be in Kiskunság National Park in Hungary watching Szabolcs Kókay paint a Black-tailed Godwit. So many beautiful waders here. Curlews calling all around ❤️

A selection of books with my illustrations from the past 2 decades.

Welcome to my new art page! I'm a wildlife artist and illustrator, working full time in this field for almost 25 years. I will share with you my work here, showing a little taster now.