About Me And My Artwork.
I used to make wildlife films, which involved a lot of travelling and subjects as diverse as elephants, jaguars, anacondas and penguins. Now I enjoy getting to know one place in depth. And Scotland is as beautiful and rich in wildlife as anywhere I've ever been. Instead of TV programmes, I now make artwork to share my excitement about the natural world.
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All my work starts with a field-sketch; a real-life encounter with bird, animal or landscape. I draw to share these snatched glimpses of wildlife that usually only come after hours spent out of doors. I can't capture all the details of that moment, but I hope to hold on to the energy and excitement of it.
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In my studio I combine my sketches to make a design for a print. I use screen printing because the limited number of colour-layers help to simplify and condense the ideas. An element of unpredictability occurs when colours overlap to make new colours, and this gives energy to the picture.
I make stencils on the screen and use a squeegee to force ink through the fine mesh of the screen, one colour layer at a time. These layers build to make the final picture. |
Screen printing is exciting because although it's such a simple technique, it provides endless possibilities. I print by hand, and only make a very limited number of pictures in each edition - usually less than 10 and never more than 30.
Most of my subject matter is wildlife from the west coast of Scotland, often within a few miles of my home in Argyll. A few years ago I worked with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds to document their work on the Hebridean island of Oronsay. I wrote and illustrated a book called Wild Island, which you can find in book stores or online.
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I also made a week of programmes for Radio 4's Tweet of the Day, which you can find by clicking here.