S. Cat Aug 29/03 Once upon a time I had the very rare privilege of having Robert Bateman, the world reknown naturalist, conservationist and gifted wildlife painter as an art teacher.   To Robert Bateman With Love How to express the impressions you made on me? How to convey the love of nature you instilled? You truly made a lasting impression on me. You not only taught us about art techniques, how to paint using various mediums, how to "throw a pot", and let me tell you, I really felt like throwing a few of those lopsided pots I made at first! But how to look at the beauty surrounding us. In nicer weather, you'd take us outside to sketch, to the babbling brook we had running alongside the school. You encouraged us to notice the sunlight coming through the trees, how it dappled among the leaves, changing the colours on the branches, how the shadows changed our perceptions. The fallen leaf, the broken twig, the caterpillar crawling along that twig, to watch the water rushing softly over the moss covered rock in the brook. You opened our eyes to the wonders of nature and instilled a reverent love of all its beauty. You had us delve into the enduring works of the old masters, to the vast cornucopia of oil on canvas by the works of the Group of Seven, to the starkness of neo impressionists, to the cave paintings done in natural pigments by primitive man. The elegance of the works created by gifted artisans from ancient cultures; the Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, Mayans, Aztecs, Native Americans, just to name a few. I listened in awed amazement to your vast knowledge, this fountain of information you imparted to us. The presentations of slides and talks of your adventures into distant lands, not only portraying the beauty of the land, but the vast richness of its plant life, the wild and wonderful inhabitants, the cultures and the diversity of both the people and their surroundings. I love one of your quotes, "The fate of the human race ultimately depends on the health of our planet and that health depends on the preservation of biological diversity." I can only hope each and every one of us, can help preserve and protect the wonders of the natural world for not only ourselves, the wildlife that inhabits it, but for future generations to love and admire. Thank you for being the teacher you are, a credit to the profession, someone who nurtures and instills a love of nature and all it's beauty to those that have come in contact with you. If all teachers could do this, think of how much richer the lives of all students would be. Now to your paintings, the evocative depictions of wildlife set within finely detailed landscapes defies description. I can't adequately convey what I feel when I gaze upon one. I only know, they make me appreciate the natural wonders found in this world of ours. One day I hope to explore more of these wonders. I certainly can't create the masterpieces that flow from your visions, but I can verbalize what that painting means to me. I hope in this small way, to give back some of the love of beauty, you instilled in me.