The Beast of Dean original linocut* print on handmade Nepalese lokta paper**. The first in my series inspired by wildlife conservation in the Forest of Dean.

Edition of 50. All prints are signed and numbered.

Paper size may vary slightly, but all are approx 240mm x 240mm

Wild boar were hunted to extinction in Britain around the 14th/15th century, but in the early 1800s rumour started of a huge boar-like beast causing havoc in the Forest of Dean. Local farmers tried to find and kill the beast, and while some stories say they were successful, others say they found no sign of it. Either way, the rumours stopped.

In the late 1990s/early 2000s, wild boar properly returned to the Forest of Dean; escaped, and illegally released, from boar farms. They're somewhat elusive, but evidence of their activity is all over the Forest - in disturbed verges where they root for food, in mud where they wallow, and on tree trunks where they scratch. With all this activity comes a more diverse woodland - less brambles and bracken, more small flora and deciduous saplings, and more invertebrates, which is all great for birds and small mammals, and the overall health of the whole Forest.

GIFTS:
Please only mark your order as a gift if you'd like it sent directly to the recipient with a gift message instead of a thank you note. I carefully wrap all orders, not just gifts, and never include an invoice.

DELIVERY: All print orders will be posted plastic-free, either flat and card-backed or gently rolled in a poster tube (depending on size and what I have available), by Royal Mail Signed for delivery, within 2 business days of order.

*Linocut is a relief printing method: a design is hand carved into linseed-based artist's lino, leaving behind raised (relief) areas to be inked up and printed. In this case, printing was done by placing paper on top of the inked block and then rubbing over the back of the paper with a teaspoon to transfer the ink to the paper.

**Lokta paper is a beautiful, unbleached, soft and durable paper, traditionally hand crafted in the Himalayan regions of Nepal by local artisans. The paper is acid free and produced without the need for electricity, using pulp made from the inner bark of the lokta bush, which grows naturally and abundantly in the region. The shrub re-grows to full maturity within 5-7 years of harvesting, making this an amazingly sustainable and eco-friendly paper.

Each sheet of paper is different; some have visible specks of bark or pieces of fibre (as you can see in the detail pics), or light creases from the hand-manufacturing process. This, along with the nature of hand-burnished printing, makes every print unique.