This blog is about animals and art, particularly when the art relates to animals.
This Blog grew from interest in my recently published book, Drawn to Animals; an artist’s encounters, which includes drawings, watercolours, etchings and sketchbook studies of animals, both wild and domestic, made first-hand from my travels across many continents or closer to home in the UK. It includes over 100 illustrations, with more that 60 in colour.
It also has fascinating facts about each animal, 12 of which are endangered and seven others vulnerable to extinction.
My book is available on line from Waterstones, Foyles, Amazon and other on-line book sellers. “This beautifully illustrated book at the hand of a skilled artist will appeal to artists and animal lovers alike” (the Leisure Painter, August 2021).
Video showing stages in making the coloured pencil drawing of a Langur monkey and young a number of which I saw in India. One of the initial sketchbook studies used to draw the Langur Monkey. Langur Monkey facts
Video showing stages of my watercolour painting, Sleeping Lion, seen in Tanzania, which appears on the front cover of my book The posture of the sleeping lion appealed to me. I was surprised how gentle it made him appear. With his paw resting under his muzzle […]
Video showing development of leopard painting, egg tempera Because of the patterned textures of the tree trunk and background to this painting, together with the complex markings of the leopard’s skin that I wanted to get right, I drew in the composition of this work more […]
Carriage Horses (detail) – coloured pencil, one of a number of studies I made of carriage horses at the Royal Windsor Horse Show. The horse has appealed to artists throughout history. Two paintings that fascinated me as a child, long before horses came into my life, were Horse […]
http://www.hedgehogstreet.org/about-hedgehogs/ On the last day of May I came across these ladybirds mating on our young Oak tree. http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/other-garden-wildlife/insects-and-other-invertebrates/beetles-and-bugs/ladybird/
Lions are good subjects to draw because they spend a great deal of time lying still, snoozing or basking in the sun. They may rest up to 20 hours a day. I saw many of these carnivores, often at quite close quarters, in both Tanzania and […]
I decided to make another picture of the leopard I had seen in Botswana. The one I had included as a pencil drawing in my book. I watched him jump into a tree to rest languidly wedged between branches. I had plenty of time to study […]
Tigers live 8 – 10 years in the wild, though longer in captivity, often14 – 16 years and sometimes 20+. They are solitary night time hunters of deer, wild pig, antelope and buffalo. In short bursts they can run 49 – 65 kilometres (30 – 40 […]
Three very different interpretations of tigers have appealed to me. Thomas Bewick (c.1753-1828) made a number of beautiful and sensitive wood engravings of animals. I’ve owned a book of his work for some years. His Tiger is one example. Printed in 1824 it is currently housed in […]
Materials used to make the sketches. Because of the striking coat colours of tiger, but I also needed a medium in which I could work quickly. I chose something I had never used before, Inktense pencils. These are water soluble coloured pencils that dissolve rather like coloured […]
Tyger, Tyger. Two coloured etching from one plate (27 h x 32 w cm). Whenever I think of tigers the words of William Blakes’s poem run through my mind, so I have included the first few line on this as part of the background here. (above […]
Painting in egg tempera requires a rigid surface. Traditionally wood has been used, but that is not entirely stable in varying climatic conditions, and good flat sheets are difficult to source. I have always used MDF. It is less likely to bend or warp and is readily […]
See my articles on painting animals in egg tempera that appeared in the January and February 2022 editions of Leisure Painter, including a detailed explanation of how I made this painting of the Kudu.
See my articles on the value of keeping an animal sketchbook in the two-part articles that appeared in the May and June 2023 issues of Leisure Painter. Coloured pencil drawing – Dragon Turtle My Dragon Turtle is being exhibited with the UK Coloured Pencil Society annual online exhibition where […]