Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/769056
88 • S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S When I asked Professional Hunter Robin Hurt, the renowned purveyor of sporting and photographic safaris based in Windhoek, Namibia, what makes Doellinger's fine art so appealing to him, Hurt didn't hesitate: "The lifelikeness of his subject that captures the spirit and character of the animal itself," he explains. "In particular, I was attracted to and most impressed by his black rhino sculpture Brute Force. It totally captured the temperament and spirit of this most dangerous, and yet most endangered, animal." "Every species I've ever sculpted, I've touched and tried to feel where its life force comes from," Doellinger says, noting that when he had contact with a rhino at a special protection facility it was like touching a dinosaur. Today, with the future of so many species uncertain in the world, he hopes his art will inspire people to remember and do what they can to keep them alive. When art does its job, he notes, it makes us conscious. n Totem, a bust of a bison head, Doellinger conveys the majesty of America's greatest prairie icon. "In the last few years, Mick has become one of the most collected of all the wildlife sculptors," says Alan Fama, owner of Fama Fine Art in Houston. "Beyond question, he's doing his best work, getting the critical recognition he deserves and winning awards." Fama ticks off a list of varied subjects, each one meeting with enthusiasm from collectors. There are the rhino, Cape buffalo, and elephant pieces, the longhorn compositions, and portrayals of big game and hunting dogs. Doellinger reckons his strongest following resides in Texas because "it probably has a concentration of more hunters per capita than any other place I can think of." When it comes to appreciating wildlife, the tastes there are cosmopolitan. Nothing substitutes, Doellinger says, for real-life experiences like his research excursions to Africa, where he's been able to handle live animals and field-dress others. word of mouth. He also received a prestigious assignment to sculpt an eight-foot tribute to University of Houston football coach Bill Yeoman. In 2006 he began an official association with Collector's Covey Gallery, and then Fama Fine Art. "I told Mick that the chance someone with his level of talent would walk in cold off the street was unbelievable," Wood told me. "In my nearly fifty years of dealing art, Mick, given what I've witnessed with the evolution and maturity of his style, ranks as one of my highlights in forging relationships with artists." Not prolific compared to some of his contemporaries, Doellinger only completes about four pieces annually. He is intimately involved in all of the stages of production, including doing his own patinas. With Curiosity, a cougar stands provocatively on his haunches, engaging our attention and leaving us with wonder. In Dune Runner, an oryx strikes a stately pose that might have been captured during Greco-Roman times. And with Brute Force, a bronze measuring 24 x 49 inches, captures the temperament and spirit of the African black rhino.