0709 “Tufty Nut” – Red Squirrel

Artist Code: 0709. Completed July 2006. Original NFS. Graphite drawing on 160 gsm pure white paper. Unframed size A4.

Caravan rallies are good for ‘doodlings’: whilst on holiday in France (2006), I drew this little squirrel in an afternoon, copying from an old photograph.

After a holiday in the Lake District, and spotting a few of these beautiful creatures, I felt compelled to paint a life size picture of their wonderful antics. But the greys, browns, blacks and albinos I have also seen around my home and elsewhere means that a series of paintings is due – so please watch this space (preliminary drawings are now (June 2015) on stretched canvases ready to be painted with oils when I get a minute or two!!)

Poem:

I’ll call him “Tufty Nut”, so sweet,
Astride a deadwood branch to eat
His little ear tufts cocked erect,
To hear what sounds he can detect
In case he has to scamper free,
escaping danger, up a tree.