The boar tree - SOLD

The boar tree, ink on A3 paper

The roots of this roadside beech tree reminded me of a wild boar - I could see its head and one giant piggy trotter. I haven't deliberately enphasised either feature, not least because the tree is a beautiful sight in itself, with the large, sinuous branch to the left curving up like the muscular neck of a herbivorous dinosaur (I'm thinking diplodocus or brontosaurus), set against the sundappled screen of leaves.

Hanger: two drawings

Hanger, ink on A3 paper

Square Hanger, ink on paper, 29 x 29 cm

These two pictures were drawn to investigate the way that the beech roots cling to the steep slope of the hanger (a hillside wood). I had no intention of introducing fantastic beasts, but they crept in, nonetheless...

Downed

Downed, ink on A4 paper

I found this dragon lying between two roadside beech trees on Nuthanger Down, its tattered wings spread on the ground, looking intently up. Was there a squirrel up there? Or was it remembering its days of flight?

Let Sleeping Dragons Lie

Let Sleeping Dragons Lie, ink on paper, 29 x 29 cm

More serpentine beech tree roots, this time on Nuthanger Down, and this time in Noodler's Walnut Brown ink (which I think is based on the colour of walnut ink, but probably isn't made from walnuts).

Re-Henge: Dragon Roots - SOLD

Dragon Roots, ink on paper, 29 x 29 cm

The serpentine roots of the Avebury beeches, last seen in Henge, led me to imagine a mythical creature dozing on the bank. Has it become one with the trees and the earth, or is it just very well camoflaged?

St Leonard's in Oakley

It was raining, so I sat under the lych gate to make this sketch.

Curious about the unusual name of this church (many a church is named for saintly Peters, Pauls, and Marys - although I'm not aware of any dedicated to Puff the Magic Dragon), I discovered that Leonard was a sixth century frenchman known for freeing prisoners.

Given the dedication, I was assuming that I would find a definite assertion that the church building was (underneath all the additions and alterations) of Norman origin, but there seems to be no such statement to be found online. It is, however, believed that a Norman chuch stood on the same site.

The history of the building seems vague until the 16th Century, so it seems reasonable to state that the church is medieval with distinctive Victorian additions. It is, however, charmingly quirky.