U is for… unidentified (!)
As a fairly hopeless birder compared to John there are always going to be some drawings that I can’t identify. Here’s a few where I need your help – thank you, hive-mind!
see also Avocets to Egrets (A,B,C,D,E) Fairy Terns to Jackass Penguins (F,G,H,I,J) Kentish Plovers to Ospreys (K,L,M,N,O) Pochard to Tigers (P,Q,R,S,T)
V is for… Vole, Vultures and a View across the water
This delightful little vole was probably sketched out on a trip to Orkney. On another page of vole sketches John noted. “runs very fast and front legs tiny, almost invisible.”
“We watched from a car, vultures gathering on a carcass in a field by a roadside in Spain. The scene became more frenetic as griffons and a few black vultures arrived from all directions out of a clear sky to join the feast” wrote John in ‘Lines from Nature’ p.129. He generally preferred the grace of vultures in the air although he did recall once awakening from a post-prandial snooze in rural France to see vultures disconcertingly close overhead!
View across Loch Sunart, this is an illustration from ‘Aig an Oir: At the Edge, Scotland’s Altantic Oakwoods‘ p.32 This book was part of a project by the Society of Wildlife Artists and the Forestry Commission to record and celebrate the oak woodlands of the west coast of Scotland. John wrote, ” I was intrigued by the way the oak branches twisted back on each other and formed an intricate pattern against the hillside and loch. First leaves showing as delicate warm yellows.”
W is for… Waved Albatross, wall creeper and White-fronted Bee-eaters
These wonderful birds were from a trip to the Galapagos where, like most of the wildlife, you can really get up close. I was lucky enough to see them there myself, and they make quite an impression with their curious head shape and the fluffy chicks balancing on their chimney-pot nests. What characters!
The wall creeper is from a trip to the Trigrad Gorge in Bulgaria in 2005. My mother recalls that so great was the excitement at seeing the birds that the following day’s promised cultural trip to the city was cancelled in favour of another day sitting in a gorge. She was not impressed!
These lovely bee-eaters are an illustration from the monograph by C P Fry published by Poyser. These colourful birds live in tight-knit colonies, digging nest holes in cliffs or earthen banks in sub-equatorial Africa.
X, Y, Z is for… Young Stonechat above a Cornish Beach
Just the one picture today, but a large and beautiful watercolour from 1969. This evokes a wonderful memory for me of a summer holiday in Cornwall. [Can you imagine… three fractious small children in the back seat (no seatbelts!) driving all the way from Edinburgh to Cornwall on A-roads? “Are we nearly there yet?” – luckily I don’t remember that part!] We had a little inflatable boat (a promotion from the Fina petrol company) just like the one lower centre, and I suspect that is my mother and little sister nearby. Of course a similar picture nowadays would have everyone in wetsuits. We were hardier then!
It also appears as an illustration in ‘Land Marks & Sea Wings’ p.9
see also Avocets to Egrets (A,B,C,D,E) Fairy Terns to Jackass Penguins (F,G,H,I,J) Kentish Plovers to Ospreys (K,L,M,N,O) Pochard to Tigers (P,Q,R,S,T)
I hope you have enjoyed this alphabetical showcase of John’s drawings. We have many more, some of which can be seen on our website, and others that haven’t yet made it online. While we love having them, and it is often difficult to part with a favourite, we would much rather they were appreciated on someone’s wall rather than in one of our drawers. Do get in touch if you would like to buy one.
with best wishes
Rachel (John’s daughter)