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Doug Taplin is a Canadian contemporary wildlife artist whose oil paintings explore animals from the Canadian Prairies to the African landscape.
Raised on a ranch along the South Saskatchewan River, Taplin developed an early connection to animals and the open spaces of the Canadian Prairies. He later earned a BFA in Painting from the University of Calgary.
His work draws on the long tradition of animal imagery, from the directness of prehistoric cave paintings to contemporary figurative painting.
Rather than creating traditional wildlife portraits, he is interested in the animal as form, presence and memory. Whether painting bison, elk, horses or African wildlife, the subject becomes a means of exploring something more elemental—the ancient and instinctive relationship between humans and the animal world.
His work is exhibited and collected throughout Canada and the United States.