 I have always been surrounded by animals. I have been fascinated by the way they move, the way that they interact with their environment since childhood. I have a particular fascination for their different textures. Reptiles and amphibians have warty or scaly skins, many fish have scales, mammals (mostly) have hair or fur and birds have feathers.
My work is about texture, about the creature in its environment. I am fortunate living as I do in Somerset, as the county is so diverse in its mixture of habitats: the wild moorlands of Exmoor; the wooded rounded Quantocks; the wetlands of the Somerset Levels; rich farmland; our own Jurassic coast at Kilve and Quantoxhead; sand dunes at Berrow; and, so on. This means an equally diverse wildlife. I am also not far from Bristol zoo and Slimbridge which add more exotic creatures to my canvas.
In the studio I work mainly from field sketches and photographs. To research specific details the internet is an invaluable resource, as are my occasional visits to London to the Natural History Museum.
To say that I believe in conservation would be trite, to say that I follow the Judeo-Christian tradition of bearing a responsibility for caring for the natural world would be silly - as it patently has not been part of that tradition. Instead I will say that I have a deep and abiding awe of animals, a horror of what we have done to our environment - in the next thirty years we face an extinction event in the oceans to rival that of the dinosaurs. Even if I don't live that long my children will live through it. To say I am pessimistic would be an understatement. I am trying to capture in paint some of these wonderful creatures before they disappear forever.
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Eric Petrie
Positive. This artist has received positive feedback from customers regarding reliability and excellence of artistry.
Size: 20.00" x 16.00"
Price: £295.00
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