David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation

WILDLIFE ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2026

ENVIRONMENTAL ARTIVISM   LUMINARY CHOICE AWARD

It was already exciting to have 2 pieces of work reach the final of the truly iconic DSWF Wildlife Artist of the Year 2026 exhibition, but I was shocked as well as deeply honoured when 'You don't know what you've got until it's gone' was awarded Luminary Choice by the wonderful ceramic artist and DSWF Luminary Lisa Stevens. 

The Environmental Artivism category:

' enables artists to use their platform to share work and their thoughts on the issues facing wildlife in this Anthropocene. This category invites honest discussion and the ability to shed light, unpack, and determine some of the more pressing environmental topics of our time. It can also be a celebration of how art can be used as a positive tool for effective and emotive communication. We invite the thinkers, the feelers, and the activists to share their personal insights on what is happening to our natural world and our effect upon it, both good and bad.'

'You don't know what you've got until it's gone', is a blind printed embossed artwork showing insects displayed in a glass case, which echoes those used to display specimens.The insects which are life size are almost invisible, visually and metaphorically! 

Having the directive of environmental artivism can allow your imagination to fly, I love that. I really enjoyed creating this piece, it was such an interesting challenge to find a way to best realise the seed of an idea I had in my head and also push myself on the technical front with a technique I'd only used in a smaller way and mostly in conjunction with relief printing before.The biggest challenge of all was to photograph it!

One of the most engaging aspects for me was to highlight the plight of creatures who at worst are considered pests to be erradicated and at best are mostly overlooked. Insects have seen a dramatic reduction in numbers over the last century. Although there was an explosion of interest in collecting specimens in the Victorian era, which tragically led to the extinction of several species, the greater cause of drop in numbers is loss of habitat due to human population growth, industrialisation and damaging agricultural practises in more recent decades. 

I hope this artwork will have prompted viewers to pause and think, maybe to appreciate the unique beauty and worth of all living creatures, maybe even to wonder how they themselves can have a more positive impact on everything in earth's biosphere, or at least a less negative one.

My other artwork exhibited at Wildlife Artist of the Year was 'Vanishing Fast' a blind print of a cheetah in the Facing Extinction category, which speaks for itself! Both pieces and my 'mini master' blind print of a tiger were sold. I'm very grateful to the kind buyers who are also supporting the important conservation work of DSWF.

                                       EXPLORERS AGAINST EXTINCTION

               THE BIG ELEPHANT AUCTION

                         

                                                           'Wisdom'

It's wonderful to have the opportunity to participate in the Big Elephant Auction, a new fundraiser organised by Explorers Against Extinction in 2026

'An African elephant is poached for its ivory at a rate of one every 26 minutes, on average'. 

A shocking statistic from 2016 which is at the heart of the Sketch for Survival concept.

Explorers Against Extinction are a UK based conservation charity who started Sketch for Survival in 2017, a unique way for professional artists and celebrities to help support wildlife conservation projects around the world, by donating artwork which is then auctioned to raise funds.                                                                        

The auction runs throughout April 2026 and finishes on April 26th at 19.00 BST 

Find details at The Big Elephant Auction

My artwork is an original woodcut and is entitled 'Wisdom'. Elephants are known to be wise, intellegent, empathic and loyal. Their wrinkled skins have a practical purpose and clearly illustrate their tough and long lives, but somehow also show their sensitive natures. I wanted to try and capture both aspects with this piece and love the way that woodcuts have the woodgrain adding to the texture and mood.

As an artist who is inspired by the natural world and wildlife, it's a real privilege to be able to help support wildlife conservation in this way.

  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.