This is a real tree. It’s an ancient yew tree (somewhere between 1,500 and 4,000 years old) in the village churchyard of Crowhurst, Surrey. The tree, even by the most conservative estimate of its age, is older than records of the church or of the…
Continue reading The tree with a door
See also Kaolin-coated boards (1: small work) and Hampshire Open Studios. Three larger works made on Claybord, in both monochrome (black Indian Ink): … and in colour (Indian style pigment inks):
Kaolin, or china clay, is the principle ingredient in scraperboard (UK) or scratchboard (US), a medium that has long been popular with illustrators. It is typically bound to a lightweight card backing, making the product relatively inexpensive but not very resilient. A hardier version of…
Continue reading Kaolin-coated boards (1: small work)
This yew tree grows on the bank of a small local stream. It’s no ancient giant, but it is a lovely tree nonetheless. Skew indian ink on paper, unmounted (paper 61 x 43 cm) £210
The yew tree portrayed here is on Merrow Down near Guildford, Surrey. It is probably not the largest or the oldest tree at that site (its regularity and lack of visible hollowing suggests a relative youthfulness), but it is, nonetheless, massive. “Behemoth” is a biblical…
Continue reading Behemoth
Yew trees are quite odd trees. They evolved earlier than most of the other familiar British trees – oaks or beeches, say – which suggests that their oddities may be ancient traits that other, more modern trees, didn’t need: aerial roots, branches that take root,…
Continue reading Bestiary (Hollow Yew)
This is an oak tree that stands by the side of the main road as it bypasses the village. It is part of a narrow wood that screens the backs of some houses from the traffic. Judging from its size, I’d guess that it is…
Continue reading Entangled
The striking monochromacity of silver birch is a natural fit with pen and ink, but I wanted to do something different with it. So I decided to try drawing on wood. I had several 12 by 12 inch squares of plywood – by chance, it…
Continue reading Silver Birch (blue and gold) series
The lofty beech is a common site on the chalk downs of southern England. Its shallow root system clings to the slopes and is often eroded by the elements, revealing a complex lattice. This drawing is a distillation of the many companionable beeches that I…
Continue reading Three Beeches on a Hill
An ancient oak tree, over 400 years old, still marks part of the boundary of Sydmonton Common in north Hampshire. It is an intriguing entity – partially decayed and yet still living (its upper limbs sported green leaves when I first visited the tree in…
Continue reading Sydmonton Common Oak