Artwork description:

'London Fancies' is based on the London Fancy Canary, a unique variety of canary bred in London in the 19th century, deep orange-yellow with jet black wings and tails, which became extinct during the 1st world war. Canaries were hugely popular with the working classes in London in the 19th century. One journalist described them as being sent to ’rejoice the hearts of us dwellers in cities’ with their ‘sprightly movements’ and their ‘joyous and irrepressible notes of ecstasy’ (source ‘Beastly London’ by Hannah Velten). This print aims to replicate that feeling, lifting the hearts of us city dwellers, inspired by natural history illustrations. I came across this subject while doing research for a print about London, and its combination of history and nature, appealed to my visual imagination.

Each canary illustration is from an original watercolour painting, as drawing and painting the birds myself is an important part of my process. These are then collaged together with text and vector graphics to create a digital image to print. Using digital media gives me the freedom to create exactly the right image I am looking for, and is great for combining new and traditional techniques and skills. The lettering on this print is then hand painted with gold paint, meaning each one will be slightly different.

Materials used:

High Quality Archival Digital Print On High Quality Archival Paper, with hand coloured lettering in gold paint

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