I ran across photos of a series I did a while ago, twelve years to be exact. A gallery had a call out for series of twenty-five 8” x 8” pieces, subject, artist’s choice. I was thrilled to be accepted, and most of the pieces sold. But looking back at it, I now realize creating the series was the best part. And as I looked at the photos of the pieces, I remembered working on it and how meaningful it was to me.
My subjects are nearly always animals, so the question was what kind of animal series would I create? What concept would unite the pieces?
I decided on animals found in Britain paired with their associated symbolism from Celtic tradition. Doing the research was fascinating and I still have my notebook of research notes. The pieces are primarily colored pencil, a medium I’ve since, for the most part, moved away from. But I think this may have been my first venture into mixed media, as I also used acrylic and penwork. By the way, the text on the pieces is Welsh and says “Song of Bee” or “Boar,” or whatever the animal is named.
Since then, I’ve probably created close to a dozen series, but only one that was larger. And of all of them, this is my favorite. I wish I still had some of the pieces, and I especially wish I had taken better photos.
I hope you enjoy seeing these British animals!