Gary says “Nile
Crocodile was my most ambitious drawing to date. Not only was it most
definitely not cute and cuddly, the image was also a massive 240cm long. I managed to get as far as just beyond the
front legs, which was 87cms worth, when I felt I needed a breather from the
intensity and sheer scale of the piece.
“I decided to bring a same-size
print of the front third out. The buzz within the art world was so great I
decided to make it an edition of 1500 copies + 150 artist proofs. This was just
as well as all the prints were over subscribed to galleries a good few weeks before
the publication date, so I had to cut back the allocation to them considerably.
Left and Right: DETAILS OF
NILE CROCODILE
“We held the preview
launch at The Cygnets Gallery in Surrey, UK to great success. The owners, Bob
and Yvonne Swann had already staged a number of exhibitions of my prints, in aid
of the Born Free Foundation and EIA and had raised over £25,000. This latest
show made an amazing £24,000 for Born Free which included £2,500 from the sale
of a Limited edition (sold out) catalogue of 100 copies. This was lovingly
compiled and designed by keen collectors Brian and Lisa Williams completely free
of charge. The show was attended by around 300 people throughout the day.
“There is a time-lapse
sequence of me drawing the crocodile in the Drawn to Wildlife VHS video tape.
It’s available for only £5 from the Born Free Foundation.
“I would love to complete
Nile Crocodile as it’s one of my favourites. All I need is a couple of hundred intense
hours to devote to it.”