A FRIENDLY FACE
(337mm x 229mm)
(13 4/16" x 9")

I heard about an island off the coast of Honduras where photographers go to get their ‘authentic’ dolphin shots. I decided to pay a visit myself. There were about a dozen Bottlenose Dolphins in a bay fenced off from the open sea. It was quite apparent that they had every chance to escape if they wished but obviously free food, plenty of space and the easy life were too rewarding.

ALL CLEAR
(308mm x 205mm)
(12 1/16" x 8 1/16")

I saw my first wild badgers in May last year. A friend of mine guided me to a sett late one evening. The coppice wood had been cut opening up the landscape and we waited silently downwind. About 9pm the first head popped up, quickly followed by two more. They were young, excited and tumbled around until eventually the night’s foraging started whereby they ran off into the neighbouring fields. In this drawing I’ve tried to recreate the magic I felt as they first emerged.

A TENDER MOMENT
(198mm x 170mm)
(7 13/16" x 6 11/16")

Giraffes are elegant creatures and I'm rather fond of them. I've drawn Mum and her calf nuzzling up close. The youngster is stretching up to offer a gentle lick whilst Mum bends down to reassure. I've drawn this scene from an unusual perspective forshortening the mothers neck as she bends forward.

BACKFLIP
(231mm x 216mm)
(9 2/16" x 8 8/16")

You would have to be pretty stoney faced not to find this youngster amusing. I saw this one playing around with his mates at the breeding centre in Chengdu, China. They are obviously breeding them easily now as there were so many young ones. In fact the latest census has revealed that there are now about 1600 wild pandas, 500 more than they thought there were! Good news for a change.

BACKSTROKE
(124mm x 265mm)
(4 14/16" x 10 7/16")

I'm constantly amazed when people assume that when I work I'm meditating. There seems to be a myth going round that artwork is in some way relaxing. I'm sorry but let me put you right on this matter, this drawing took me three weeks and did my bleedin' head in.

BAMBOO BREAKFAST
(274mm x 190mm)
(10 13/16" x 7 8/16")

I got up at 6am to see these pandas at feeding time in Chengdu Breeding Centre in Sichuan Province in China.I made it a mission to go and see them. I needed a drawing of pandas so I thought I might as well go to China, why not?. It would have been nice to see them in the wild but I went in winter and it was minus 20 at the time.Now I've seen them, they are definately one of my favourite animals.

CHESTNUT TREE AND TAWNY
(204mm x 250mm)
(8 1/16" x 9 13/16")

A simple and restful composition. I’ve placed the owl in the top left hand quarter of the picture surrounded on 3 sides by strong verticals of coppice wood. To finish I added background shading to soften the effect and create some movement.

FEEDING STATION
(279mm x 135mm)
(11" x 5 5/16")

I started this picture without any idea what I was doing, in fact I kept on drawing until I ran out of paper. It was OK but something was missing. I put it away. A year later I added the birds and the picture sprang to life.

GRUMPY MONKEY
(142mm x 253mm)
(5 9/16" x 9 15/16")

This is a Pygmy Marmoset, a tiny monkey from South America. They are adorable little creatures with huge wide eyes.
It occurred to me whilst drawing her that on close inspection there was something about her expression that said ‘grump’ hence the title.
I like this composition; it is clean, uncluttered and well balanced.

HANGING AROUND
(268mm x 188mm)
(10 9/16" x 7 6/16")

I'm a rotten photographer so I took several bad snaps of this baby orangutan in Singapore zoo. In one photo the head looked good and not the body and in the other the body was good and not the head. After a careful transplant I had the picture I wanted.

HEAD OF THE FAMILY
(158mm x 198mm)
(6 4/16" x 7 13/16")

A very superior lion looking down his nose.I saw this one in the lion park near Harare in Zimbabwe, not wild but in Africa at least. He struck this pose when he heard the roar of another lion in the background. This is a very strong image, I've noticed that my customers often buy it for their Dads and for Leos.

HEADS AND TAILS
(153mm x 167mm)
(6" x 6 9/16")

I love Lemurs they are adorable. They have that wonderful need to cuddle up, cling and socialise with each other, I suspect we could learn a thing or two.This trio was having a rest and snuggling up in a cosy knot of fur.

HIPPO CALLING
(150mm x 160mm)
(6 9/16" x 6 5/16")

Here is one for all those hippo fans and collectors. My hippo is calling out across an African sky and has given me the excuse to draw in every detail down to the whiskers round his nose. I may have a repetitive obsessional compulsive disorder.

HUNTING AT DAWN
(278mm x 100mm)
(10 15/16" x 3 15/16")

These are 'rescued' cheetahs. They had the misfortune to be born wild on the wrong ranch in Namibia. They had worried the farmer's livestock so he had plans to shoot them as vermin! Thankfully not everyone thinks this way and they were now part of a breeding project in South Africa. I was allowed into the fenced field where they were kept. It wasn't dangerous, cheetahs don't attack people. In fact they don't attack anything that fights back, they rely soley on speed to run down their prey and will not risk an injury.

JUMBO FAMILY
(219mm x 262mm)
(8 10/16" x 10 5/16")

One of the best things to do in Sri Lanka is a visit to the Elephant Orphanage.I don't know how many there are, 30 or so I'd guess.You can follow them down to the river and watch them bathe. It is magical running along side the herd and you can go down and help give them a scrub if you wish. I saw this litte'un with his Mum and took a series of bad photos as usual. Never mind I drew Mum from one photo, the calf from another but raised his trunk, I finished by giving Mum a better ear!

LAZY LOOKOUT
(195mm x 213mm)
(7 11/16" x 8 6/16")

Everyone delights in meerkats especially when they stand up on tiptoes. That’s why I laughed when I saw this individual taking his duties a little less seriously than he should. Well if you’re on top of the rock what’s the point in standing. It’s so easy to identify with meerkats as they seem to reflect so much about ourselves in their society. Let’s hope that doesn’t include ‘chavs’.

LEOPARD ROCK
(220mm x 285mm)
(8 11/16" x 11 4/16")

Imagine the scene, its evening and with a yawn and a good long stretch the lady slopes forward to stand atop her moonlit lair. Sends a tingle down my spine just thinking about it, pity she was in Singapore zoo!
Well let’s face it I can’t really be expected to get all my images from the wild, I cheat like everyone else its called 'artistic licence'.
I did see a leopard once but not in Africa, in India in fact. It didn’t pose, it walked out in front of us and before I could steady the camera it walked off and sat in the bushes. Bloody typical.

MISCHIEF MONGER
(246mm x 150mm)
(9 11/16" x 5 14/16")

I adore foxes and never tire of spotting one, I get excited everytime, which is usually late at night down our road. This one is a country cousin and looks like he’s been caught getting up to no good.

MOTHERHOOD
(345mm x 212mm)
(13 9/16" x 8 6/16")

I have drawn Mum exhausted, complete with a snotty snout, in the middle of four of her new litter. I saw them under a village hut in Laos and they were only a day old. Drawing all that straw was a nightmare but the trickiest part of the whole picture was the bristles running up mum's back. To achieve the effect I had to score the paper first before going over it with the side of a pencil. This is a hit or miss technique that courts disaster.

NIGHTSHIFT
(326mm x 232mm)
(12 13/16" x 9 2/16")

Whilst visiting Luang Prabang in Laos I took a side trip to Kwang Si Falls and came across this tigress, her name is Phet. She had been rescued from poachers when she was just 6 weeks old and was now living in her own jungle enclosure. When I saw her she was a healthy 3-year-old young lady.

ON THE PROWL
(250mm x 145mm)
(9 13/16" x 5 11/16")

There is something special that sets a cat apart from other animals. Somehow you must find a way of capturing that quality and bring it out in the picture. It’s no easy task. My attempt was to freeze that moment of tension as the cat creeps forward, her eyes widening as she gets ready to pounce.

PADDLING PENGUIN
(232mm x 160mm)
(9 2/16" x 6 5/16")

You won't find many drawings of penguins quite like this. It's an unusual angle, a snorkler's eye view. If you look carefully you'll see that this is much more of a sketch than a super detailed study. I drew it quite a long time ago. It is no less effective for being sketchy but it does give an idea how my style has developed.

PORTRAIT OF A POLAR BEAR
(274mm x 194mm)
(10 13/16" x 7 10/16")

A crafty look sideways, he knows you are there and he is keeping a wary eye on you. He is resting up after a swim before heading off across the ice.This is a simple composition but a tricky drawing. Wet fur is a challenge to say the least.

RINGTAIL
(180mm x 350mm)
(7 1/16" x 13 12/16")

Apparently there are 13 rings on a Ring-tailed Lemurs tail. There are not many occasions when you can drop that into a conversation, and I’m strangely pleased if I manage it.
This Lemur is one of the Marwell Zoo group, I’m still saving my pennies for a trip to Madagascar. One day.

SHETLAND IN SHADE
(297mm x 129mm)
(11 11/16" x 5 1/16")

This Shetland pony was in a friend's field. I carefully drew just the top half and placed the coppiced tree in front for effect. I then guessed where the shadows and dappling might fall and when I was happy the scene was complete.

STRIPES
(123mm x 150mm)
(4 13/16" x 5 14/16")

This is one of my personal favourites. They are wild zebras socialising in Kruger National Park. It's easy to get up close to zebras, first of all they are everywhere and then of course they relax during the day. It tends to be only at night when they get their backsides bitten off.

THE CHASE
(192mm x 289mm)
(7 9/16" x 11 3/8")

This beautiful cat was born in the mountains of Kashmir. She had been rescued by the Indian Army after they discovered that her days were numbered. Apparently she had killed some of the local’s livestock and they were less than happy about it.
The army managed to trap her successfully and then donated her to the Snow Leopard breading project in Darjeeling.

THE PACK
(203mm x 244mm)
(7 16/16" x 9 10/16")

I wanted to avoid the standard wolf howling at the moon theme so I have attempted to create an air of curious menace as the pack closes in. This is in reality only one wolf and I drew it three times over.To give it a little more depth youll notice that I drew the front wolf darker, the back wolf lighter and the middle wolf er.. middler.

TIGER IN THE GRASS
(341mm x 218mm)
(13 7/16" x 8 9/16")

This is my most popular print. You can see why, at first glance its easy to miss the tiger in the middle but then your eyes focus in on the eyes focusing out. I drew this one using the same model sitter as in my other print 'Tiger Rising', but I needed only the upper face. The rest I added by pencilling in the background and dashing it out again with an eraser. The smaller leaves were lifted out using a piece of Blu-Tak.

TIGER RISING
(178mm x 182mm)
(7" x 7 3/16")

I'm often asked where I begin a drawing, and I always say the eyes.If you get the eyes right the rest should follow. I always think that this fine fellow looks as if he's got a headache, what a face; just imagine encountering this guy as you bird watched in the bush.

TIME TO THINK
(170mm x 190mm)
(6 11/16" x 7 8/16")

I've shown this portrait to many people and as yet noone has yet realised that this is a 'Mrs' Gorilla. She had a little'un with her but she didnt want me to see it, she kept manouvering around so that I couldnt get a clear view.Oh well never mind, Mum was a good model and I think she has a lovely soulful look about her.

TRUNKS AND TEXTURE
(247mm x 130mm)
(9 12/16" x 5 2/16")

There is a certain irony in going all the way to Africa only to see these wrinklies in Pretoria zoo. That said drawing the texture of mud encrusted jumbo hide was a real challenge.

YOUNG SERVAL
(305mm x 195mm)
(12" x 7 11/16")

I saw this Serval on a game farm near Umfolozi in South Africa. It had been injured and was recovering in a pen. I was allowed in to take a few pictures. These are the eyes of a wild cat and you can feel their intensity.

YOUNG ZEBRA AFTER RAIN
(245mm x 192mm)
(9 10/16" x 7 9/16")

I saw this youngster and his Mum in Kruger National Park in South Africa. It was the rainy season and you can see the wet hair I drew on his back.He was a happy young zebra, wild and free. I watched enchanted as he gambolled across the vast African plains, that was of course before the lion appeared and ripped him to pieces! Just kidding, I will have my little joke.

CURIOUS CUB
(220mm x 285mm)
(8 11/16" x 11 4/16")

Here he is with his big paws hanging up a tree steadying himself. His ears are pricked up and his eyes are wide open and watching what's going on. I am pleased with this drawing, it is clean and simple and seems to capture that certain something that typifies the cat family.

EYELASHES
(333mm x 222mm)
(13 2/16" x 8 12/16")

Everytime I look at this threesome (two Ladies and a Gent I believe) I imagine a microphone in the middle and them as backing singers in a jungle trio! If I had my commercial head screwed on of course I could have made this into a tryptic of 3 seperate studies,sold them as a set and cashed in! As it is I didn't and this should now be considered a third of the price and an absolute bargain.

FAMILY PORTRAIT
(230mm x 235mm)
(9 1/16" x 9 4/16")

This reminds me of those old photographs that you see of people posing very seriously for the camera. These are Douc Langur monkeys, black shanked to be exact, and they are critically endangered.I saw these two on a visit to Coq Phuang National Park in Vietnam.There was a captive breeding programme run by Frankfurt Zoo to help save these and other Vietnamese primates.

LOOKING FOR LUNCH
(161mm x 196mm)
(6 5/16" x 7 11/16")

I needed a squirrels eye view to get this composition. There I was in the park ,on my belly with a packet of broken biscuits bribing my models to come ever closer. I was a little self conscious with the locals looking on but dignity can't get in the way of art.

SIBLINGS
(314mm x 178mm)
(12 6/16" x 7")

On a visit to a temple near the desert town of Bikaner in Rajastan I noticed these guys warming themselves in the morning sun. They looked to be well fed as temple dogs should and posed rather elegantly I think. It is difficult when dealing with a subject such as this not to tip over the dividing line into sentimentality. Hopefully I’ve succeeded in capturing the charm and not the goo! I am personally very pleased with the results.