I have recently developed a fondness for the hornbeam, a tree that is native to southern Britain. They don’t seem to be very common on the Hampshire/Berkshire borders, but I have found a few places where they grow. Strangely, nearly every local hornbeam seems to…
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Each of these 6″ square panels depicts a man-made birdhouse, or nest box, positioned in a tree. The titles are taken from stereotypical estate agent descriptions. To date, there are eight birdhouses: They will be available for £120 each, framed.
Cernunnos, the horned one, is the Celtic god of the forest. Resplendent in autumn’s riches, this lordly beech seems a worthy successsor, high on the slope with its heavy, curled antler-branches. Beech frequently grows fabulous shapes and it is to emphasise these that I use…
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Natural erosion of the chalky soil frequently reveals the roots of trees on the Hampshire hangers, but this beech is an extreme case. Immense, intriguingly intertwined, the muscular, naked root structure forms an intricate lattice roof over an intimate hollowed-out cavern. Somebody has fetched branches…
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The Ankerwycke Yew is, according to tradition, the tree beneath which King John signed the Magna Carta. It certainly could have been – it is old enough and in the right sort of place – but we may never know for sure. It’s a very…
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These beeches are by the entrance to a local wood, and are the only beech that I have seen there (it’s mainly sycamore and birch, with some ash). I think they were probably part of a hedge, although the rest of the grown-out hedge line…
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I’ve drawn this tree before, but I didn’t include the thing that originally drew my attention to it: the “No dogs” sign suspended in its branches! Roadside 12″ x 16″, ink and hybrid acrylic on kaolin-coated board £330 (framed)
Bradgate Park, in Leicestershire, lies on volcanic rock and the park’s great oaks seem to congregate around the outcrops. Bradgate was a medieval deer park and was subsequently owned by the family of Lady Jane Grey. Local legend has it that the oaks in the…
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The River Test flows quietly by itself through much of rural North Hampshire. Relatively few public footpaths coincide with it for any distance, which is probably no surprise when you consider how valuable the river’s banks are in terms of fishing rights. Towns and villages,…
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The River Test has its notional source in the downs a mile from the village of Overton in north Hampshire. Last September, I used public footpaths to follow the river between its source and Overton, where it once powered several mills. The source itself was…
Continue reading Idyll (with tyre swing) -SOLD