Hampshire artist draws British wildlife with a ballpoint pen

An award-winning artist has visited 53 nature reserves around the UK to produce drawings using a ballpoint pen.

Cy Baker, who was Wildlife Artist of the Year in 2022, partnered with the Wildlife Trusts for the year-long project and the unusual work will be auctioned with half the sale revenue going to the charity.

The 16 drawings are made on canvas and each used several pens, though Mr Baker, from Hampshire, prefers only to use black ink.

“I like softness and light and shade and subtlety, rather than anything too brash, so I’ve gone monochromatic,” he said.

“I think it’s got a certain atmosphere and dare I say spirituality to it that can’t be communicated in any other way.”

He continued: “I’ve been laying on my belly three feet away from a badger, I’ve seen seal pups in their breeding grounds, incredible landscapes – it’s been amazing.

“These animals and landscapes probably only exist because of the work that the Wildlife Trusts do, so that’s what I wanted to try and capture.”

He noted: “Some people will love this kind of work and other people will hate it. That’s the nature of art.

“The animals and the landscapes that I depict are going to be helped as a result of the art that I do.”

Recently Mr Baker received a letter from Buckingham Palace, informing him that The King, who is patron of the Wildlife Trusts, was “very impressed by the skill involved” and conveyed his “sincere hopes that the exhibition and auction are both enjoyable and successful for all involved”.