DRAWING HUGELY REWARDING BUT ALSO FRUSTRATING AT TIMES

I enjoy being creative and of course I love drawing, but I'm not one of those artists who has a pencil permanently attached to their hand, who doodles mini masterpieces on paper napkins in restaurants for people to then sell at auction for hundreds of pounds (sorry folks) or whose life is intrinsically immersed in creating art every day. I never have been. And I definitely don't do my art to become cash rich. But drawing is very important to my life. According to Dave, I'm at my most content when I have a successful picture evolving a pace on my trusted drawing board. Drawing can be a very frustrating past time though; my moods swing all over the place when things aren't going according to plan, to how I envisage them to be in my head. And that happens far too often... sigh. But when the drawing seems to miraculously draw itself, I'm on top of the world. I'm so grateful that drawing has been my sole means of income for over 26 years. Additionally, it has given me the huge privilege and freedom to travel the world to witness my wild passions. And I've met some amazing people involved with wildlife along the way too. The fact that I also love taking photographs means my life is pretty darn good. Put all that together and how could I not do my bit to help protect animals?

Crocodile (unfinished) 2000. I took on too much and ran out of steam with this 8ft drawing! I will be adding a little more detail before it becomes the centre piece of my solo show in April 2016.