Wild Postcard Gallery 2019 - 2021

The first gallery drawing of a beautiful red squirrel was submitted on 27 November 2019 by Stephanie Clarey, a teacher from Kirk Merrington. Jamie Brown, age 11 of East Linton, Scotland submitted the second drawing of a black jaguar. The third drawing, a bumblebee was submitted by Isabel, age 4 of Northumberland.

For further details about Wild Postcard Gallery, access to other gallery collections and for how to submit your drawing please visit the main gallery here. Jane would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed to Wild Postcard Gallery from 2019 - 2021.

2020 Drawings

Abi has created a personal response through art, to the devasting Australian bushfires of 2019-2020, paying a moving tribute to wildlife affected by the fires and humans helping with rescue and rehabilitation of injured animals - look closely at the Koala's nose and body where there is a layer of forest and the following handwritten text:

A country in flames. Australian bushfires are a warning to the world. Australia's fires set off apocalyptic-looking blood red skies. Austrailia's fires: how the world has responded to the crisis: koala mittens...

Alisa Richardson has created an exquisite mixed media diptych in Biro and watercolour, featuring Arctic Wolf, Atka of the Wolf Conservation Center, NY and Red Fox for Wild Postcard Gallery.

This stunning and sensitive drawing of a hare, incorporating excellent use of colour, brings to life the primeval eyes of these beautiful creatures, now listed as endangered in the UK with a decreasing population of 700,000. For those fortunate to happen across a wild hare, Nikki has captured perfectly the sleek elegance and beguiling timidity of this ancient and beloved UK species.

One of the youngest artists to submit a drawing, Rowan Speed who recently turned four, has created a brilliant drawing of a Boa Constrictor complete with gleaming eyes and terrific fangs.

Laura Atkinson's exceptional drawings of a Reticulated giraffe bring exciting additions to the gallery. Her drawing above is a continuous line drawing created with her other hand; below right her blind continuous line drawing demonstrates brilliant line making ability presenting the familiar outline of a giraffe. Laura's daughter Elizabeth, age 5, is clearly following in her talented mother's footsteps with a wonderful drawing of an endangered Grevy's zebra!

This exquisite and deeply sensitive drawing of a critically endangered Western Lowland Silverback gorilla was created by exceptional teacher Simon Campbell who demonstrates a clear talent for drawing as well as teaching.

This stunning full colour Biro drawing with beautiful rendering, created by talented Barbora, captures the beauty of Siamese Fighting Fish also known as Betta. These freshwater fish native to the Mekong basin of Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam are threatened by habitat loss and pollution. Popular aquarium fish, they often face mistreatment in the pet trade and in captivity can suffer from frustration and depression. Barbora's drawing is a reminder of how precious these small yet mighty fish are.

Karen's beautiful and accomplished drawings are created with delicate mark-making that echoes the beauty of these elusive species. Her husband Steve, has also created an equally accomplished drawing of a carp with gorgeous, fluid lines. Their excellent drawings are a wonderful homage to UK species.

The following eleven Biro drawings were begun by Year 9 students of St. Wilfrid's RC College, South Shields during Jane's Wild Postcard Gallery drawing workshop on 20 January 2020. Inspirational art teacher Mrs. Gribben worked with Year 9 to finish their drawings before the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. She kindly sent in their exceptional drawings for the gallery, several of which convey impassioned messages from a generation of young people living in an era of unprecedented environmental crisis. Spare a few moments to read their appeals for change:

After making their excellent drawings of an orca, orangutan and jaguar, Caleb and Jude decided to adopt all three species. Bravo, Caleb and Jude!

Mikkel age 4 from Madrid, loves dinosaurs so he chose to draw lizard species for the gallery:

The following special contributions are Laura Gosset Head of Education and David Bolton Education Officer of Born Free and David's son Seb age 2, the youngest artist featured in the gallery! Laura and David are Co-partners of the Where Did All the Animals Go? project team who have worked tirelessly to support WDATAG project and Jane and the team are fortunate to gain from their invaluable wildlife and educational expertise.

Laura's beautiful line-making has perfectly captured the intense expression of a chimpanzee, in her stunning drawing. The chimpanzee's soulful eyes speak volumes.

David and Seb created magnificent, expressive, and incredibly touching drawings in celebration of humpback whales. This majestic species, known for its haunting song is a symbol of hope for vulnerable species.

Video: BBC Earth "The humpback whales of Alaska have developed an ingenious method of fishing for herring, but it only works if they all co-operate"

By co-operating, like the humpback whales fishing for herring in BBC Nature's spectacular video above, global conservation efforts, since its protection under the Endangered Species Act in 1973, have helped humpback whale populations recover and increase from 10,000 to 84,000 with nine of the fourteen populations IUCN conservation status relisted from Endangered to Least Concern. Enjoy David and Seb's incredible drawings below:

Below is a marvellous drawing of a Red Fox by Daisy Buckridge age 6, a beautifully expressive drawing that would work perfectly as an illustration for all the best fox stories. Daisy loves both wildlife and drawing and foxes are her favourite animals at the moment. What makes this drawing all the more special is Daisie's composition, positioning the fox on the right of the page. In the words of her father Jamie:

"I can just picture the unfortunate chicken..."

Bhavya's exquisite and extremely delicate drawing of a Prothonotary Warbler, introduces a new species to the gallery. These small songbirds inhabit East North America including Southern Ontario and winter in South America. Reminiscent of the prints by Japanese masters like Hiroshige, by drawing the warbler to the left of the page and leaving the rest of the page blank, Bhavya has created a serene atmosphere within the composition.

An outstanding Biro drawing by Rosie age 10 of a critically endangered Western Lowland Gorilla. Rosie has captured the gorilla's soulful expression, in a drawing worth a thousand words.

CHILDREN'S ART WEEK

The following drawings were created for Children's Art Week (CAW) 29 June - 5 July 2020 . WDATAG? Project participated in this year's CAW to provide the opportunity for children and families to submit their drawings to Wild Postcard Gallery. CAW is run by Engage, the National Association for Gallery Education and supported in 2020 by Engage Scotland, Engage Cymru and The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust.

Magical drawing by Annabelle age 7 from Durham. Annabelle said:

"I have chosen to draw my 3 favourite endangered animals a Cheetah, Hare and Elephant. I love how fast cheetahs run, I have a rabbit so love hares and we adopt an elephant."

Stunning drawings by Vicki and her Mother, Jackie, of an Atlantic Puffin and Angolan Giraffe. Vicki has clearly inherited her immense talent from her Mum. Vicki said:

"My mum and I have been doing a few Art Nights via zoom during lockdown. We have had a running theme of women artists and tonight I chose you as our artist! So we both broke out the biros and drew an endangered animal.... And this is what we came up with!"

This wonderfully expressive drawing of a Moon Bear, also know as Asiatic black bears, by Sophie O' Connell age 9, demonstrates imaginative use of line-making to accentuate the shaggy coat these bears are renowned for. Sophie's father Daniel said:

"Sophie really enjoyed learning new ways to draw and loved finding out more about Moon Bears."

Moon Bears are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN red list. They are threatened by habitat loss and exploitation in bear farms where their bile is collected for use in Asian medicine. Read more about this beautiful species here: www.bornfree.org.uk/animals/moon-bears

Sophie O'Connell with her Moon Bear drawing

Oliver Martin age 9 of Edinburgh who loves to draw, has created a splendid drawing of a Central America Boa, focusing on the intricate markings of this beautiful snake species.

RYHOPE JUNIOR SCHOOL, SUNDERLAND

The following outstanding drawings were created by children of Ryhope Junior School, Sunderland during Children's Art Week. Thank you to all for your stellar Biro drawings depicting an array of vulnerable species: