DAVID SHEPHERD WILDLIFE FOUNDATION

WILDLIFE ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2024

I was absolutely thrilled that my mixed media work entitled 'Fading Away' was a finalist in DSWF Wildlife Artist of the Year 2024 and included in their wonderful exhibition at the Mall Galleries London this summer.

After watching the challenges faced by the migratory monarch butterfly, so graphically shown by David Attenborough in his series Planet Earth III, I was inspired to illustrate their plight. My linocut and watercolour piece aims to highlight the gradual insidious loss of this now endangered butterfly, in a direct visual way, through careful use of colour, tone and composition. Very few people are privileged enough to witness in person, the sight of a million stunningly beautiful butterflies together, but I hope we can all understand how the loss of any wildlife and natural environments, doesn't just drain the colour from our lives but is a serious threat to survival of all life on our planet.

The WAY exhibition raises funds for the critical conservation work of DSWF so I was really delighted that 'Fading Away' was sold, as were the two Mini Master postcard size works I also donated.

I was honoured to be part of the exhibition and there were so many inspiring artworks to see, that I'm already planning next year's submission!

Artists for Painted Dogs

                                                                'Stained by the land'

This year Artists for Painted Dogs organised their second Autumn online exhibition and I was really delighted to have my mixed media artwork 'Stained by the land' selected. 

Artists will share their sales profits this year with the The Kalahari African Wild Dog Conservation Trust and Wildlife Act. The KWDCT is an organisation in Namibia dedicated to the conservation of African wild dogs, which are Namibia's most endangered large carnivore. They are dedicated to ensuring the survival of the species. Wildlife Act have conservation projects across South Africa.

My Artwork is a mixed media work created with woodcut printmaking and watercolour painting.

                                                             

                                                     SKETCH FOR SURVIVAL

                                                              'Watching'

I am thrilled and honoured to have been chosen as a finalist in Sketch for Survival's 2022 Wildlife100 exhibition collection. The exhibitions and final auction of donated artworks is organised by conservation charity Explorer's Against Extinction to raise funds for worldwide wildlife conservation projects.

My artwork of a tiger is an original mixed media work combining woodcut and watercolour mediums. I chose to depict a tiger as their numbers in the wild are still declining. This is despite the fact that they are perhaps the most recognisable of endangered animals and there are many tiger conservation programmes. Their reduction in numbers is due to loss of habitat caused by many consequences of human over population, as well as illegal poaching for traditional medicines and the wildlife 'exotic pet' trade.

The title of my work 'Watching' refers to the steady watchful gaze of the tiger and aims to explore visually the relationships between captivity and freedom, It also alludes to the complex issues around us watching captive animals and the tragic irony of a growing captive breeding programme not for conservation but to supply the illegal wildlife trade.

All the artworks exhibited by Sketch for Survival 2022 will be for sale by online auction which will finish on November 20th 2022.

Sketching wildlife.

Animals are still the favourite subject for my artwork. Although it can often be challenging to sketch them in the flesh, it's also very rewarding and helps you really understand the anatomy and character of your subject. It always pays to have a sketchbook on hand as you never know where and when you might get a chance.

Snoozing piglets in the home farm at Wimpole Hall 

I've never been on safari or had the opportunity to sketch wild animals in their natural habitat outside the UK, so taking photographs in wildlife parks is my only other option and it does often allow a closer view, which admittedly is useful when I want to see a lot of detail for making woodcut prints.

My lovely restored Albion Press for relief printing.

The conditions in wildlife parks and zoo's are greatly improved from those I remember seeing as a child in the 60's, but I still find it very sad to see wild animals in captivity. I hope to visit the Wild Place Project in Bristol soon, which aims to relocate all the animals from the old Bristol Zoo and offer bigger spaces that more closely reflect the animals' natural habitats whilst also increasing it's conservation work.

There are some fantastic conservation programmes nowadays and better enrichment for many animals, but it would be nice to imagine that one day we won't keep wild animals captive for our amusement or their survival.  

Experimenting

Lockdown gave me an opportunity to experiment with printmaking techniques and mixed medium work. I like the contrast of drawing and painting marks alongside printed surface, but it can be a delicate balance.

                                                              'Original Man' 

                                         Ink and pencil drawing and collagraph print

It was also a joy to document springtime in my garden and the local countryside in my sketchbooks and use different drawing mediums.

GRATITUDE IN ART

                                                   My design Beacon of Hope

Obviously the past 18 months have been incredibly difficult for many people due to the pandemic and it's been a challenging time in the Arts, so I was really delighted to have one of my designs commissioned by global public art producers Wild in Art for their latest and most heartfelt project 

This is Gratitude has been created especially to show our gratitude to NHS and other key workers for their amazing hard work and dedication throughout this pandemic. 51 sculptures have been designed and painted by individual artists and celebrate a wide range of themes around gratitude and resilience. Enclosed by mirrors on two sides, Gratitude creates infinite reflections of the stunning artwork highlighting the endless dedication of all key workers The wonderful Zandra Rhodes is the creative ambassador for the project.

My design 'Beacon of Hope', is a lighthouse, which is a traditional and iconic symbol of hope already used amongst some key worker organisations. The base has a design of rough seas and bears the inscription, 'your light shines like a beacon of hope on stormy seas'. It is dedicated to all key workers who have given everyone hope and support during the Pandemic. It has been wonderful to have the opportunity to show my gratitude by being involved in this project.

Having toured the country with exhibitions in central locations in Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh, the public art installation reached it's final stunning location of Southwark Cathedral last week. 

The artworks are now being auctioned online to raise funds for the NHS Charities Together which does vital amazing work to support NHS staff, patients and emergency support workers.

Anyone wishing to bid for an artwork and support the NHS can do so here.

FITZ STITCH

The Fitzwillaim Museum Cambridge have started a community needlework project called Fitz Stitch, during the current Pandemic, to create a quilt made up of squares, each sewn by different people and all inspired by different items in the museum's collection. The finished quilt of 48 squares will be displayed in the Fitzwilliam Museum when it reopens.

I feel very lucky to be able to participate in this positive and creative joint effort. There has been an interesting online group meeting with other participants, who shared their ideas and proposed methods and tips from textile artist Lucy Mazur and Museum Education officer Sarah Blake.

I have chosen to take the woodcut print 'Irises and Grasshopper', by Japanese master print maker Katsuhiko Hokusai, as my inspiration. This is for several reasons: having recently started making my own inks and dyes from natural materials, I had been reading about making both dye and ink from Irises and with a plentiful supply in my garden I thought it would be great fun to experiment with this. Also, although I don't really use the Japanese woodcut method in my own woodcut printing, I am influenced by Japanese Art generally and a great admirer of Hokusai's work.

More on my not too scientific dye making findings and progress on creating my quilt square soon!