Rooted in the Forest

A Life Steeped in Woodland Work

Before I began developing my own style of British wildlife art, I spent years working for the Forestry Commission. I started with timber contracts, studying old maps and their forgotten woodland names — a treasure trove of history and lore. Later, I worked outdoors selecting trees, learning timber types, and travelling the district with my dogs to check for disease and keep public rights of way open.

Those years deepened my understanding of the forest: its rhythms, its responsibilities, its quiet stories. I now keep a smallholding in the middle of the woods, surrounded by animals and visited daily by wildlife. Looking back, the guardians had been walking beside me long before I ever drew them. 

Crafting the Guardians

Each guardian begins with many graphite sketches — rough, corrected, reshaped — until the pose feels true. Every guardian receives a sigil, a purpose, and a place within the Woodland Realm. I research local place names, gather fragments of folklore, and build the foundations of their story before a single pastel touches the paper.

My work blends wildlife observation with folklore, slowly evolving into what I hope will become a distinctive voice within mythic wildlife art. I use 100% archival materials, selecting the most lightfast pastels from Caran d’Ache, Stabilo, Faber‑Castell, Derwent, Conté à Paris, PanPastels and Sennelier. My paper is Pastelmat, ensuring each piece becomes a lasting original or fine art print.

Where Imagination and Memory Meet

The ideas often arrive in the middle of the night — insomnia has its uses. I’ve always loved drawing foxes, and I wanted a reason to draw more. Then came the spark: place them at the compass points. Let each direction have a guardian. Let the Realm grow around them.

My photography may be blurry, but my imagination is vivid. Childhood favourites like Wind in the Willows, Tales from the Riverbank, Brambly Hedge, Enid Blyton adventures and Watership Down taught me early on that animals could be heroes and landscapes could hold magic. Those stories planted the seeds of the Woodland Realm long before I ever named it.

These days my head is full of ideas — sparked by a place name, a rustle in the undergrowth, or a memory from the old paths. My phone is overflowing with notes because my memory is dreadful, but the Realm is alive and growing, one guardian at a time. 

A Final Word

The Woodland Realm isn’t something I invented — it’s something I finally listened to. It has been whispering through my life since childhood: in the paths I walked, the work I did, the wildlife I cared for, and the stories that shaped me. My art is simply the way I give those whispers form.

Thank you for stepping into the woods with me. The guardians and I are glad you found your way here.