Pencil Sketch, A4, 2020.
The second in a series of sketches inspired by local London wildlife. As a shy kid growing up in the countryside and slowly adapting then embracing city life, I feel a particular connection to the fox. On the Yorkshire Moors where I grew up, we rarely, if ever, saw them, but we knew they were about. We’d occasionally drive past the (now thankfully banned) hunts, I’d drink in a pub called The Fox & Hounds and as a small child I remember the constant battle to keep our small brood of hens safe (and the time the foxes won).
As with most Londoners, I’ve had countless late-night encounters with seemingly curious foxes, often on the way back from the pub and every single one has lifted my spirits. A resourceful creature surviving in the gaps, the bits of left-over land even London hasn’t covered with tarmac or sanitised. I live by a railway, the sidings are a popular home for foxes all over London. Long may they thrive and continue to surprise us as they help us reflect on our own struggles and plight in an increasingly urbanised world.
