Vermin

"Vermin": English slang for someone contemptible, typically who steals and/or causes damage to property. 

A limited edition of 6 hand-made linocut prints of a family Red Foxes. This piece was inspired by a walk I took many years ago on a sunny summer's day up on the Kentish North Downs. As I reached the top of a hill, I saw three fox cubs playing in the sunshine just a few metres up ahead. The rays of sun caught their golden coats and the warm late afternoon air was thick with pollen. The little ones were too engaged in their rough-and-tumble play to notice me, so I remained still and watched them for a few seconds. Of course, as soon as their wily Mum turned up, she clocked me immediately and hurried her rambunctious brood back into the den. It stands out as one of the most magical moments in my life.

Foxes have long been labelled as "vermin" largely because they'll often take small livestock (animals humans perceive as having value). The English aristocracy have long used this as a rationale for their blood sports, although the practice of hunting foxes with hounds has little to do with traditional rural life or the practicalities of modern farming: it has always been a pursuit of the wealthy and privileged purely for their own aggrandisement (Foxes also control the rabbit population, but the same lowlifes who hunt foxes would much rather shoot rabbits and hares too instead of allowing Mother Nature to attain balance).

Hunting with hounds has been illegal in the UK since 2005, but still the real vermin go out regularly to tear foxes apart for fun and successive governments have done little to prosecute the criminals responsible. Enforcement of the ban is largely left to groups of volunteer Hunt Saboteurs rather than the police. Fox hunting remains a great shame of my country even decades after it was outlawed.

This print celebrates the beauty of foxes, highlights their plight and reminds us that they are sentient animals with an innate worth that by far transcends any perceived "value" or lack thereof. They are not vermin: the people who torture them to death with their dangerous dogs are.

Printed on 120gsm fine-grained cartridge paper. Available in two mount choices; framing service also available. All limited-edition prints are  numbered and signed in graphite and come packaged with a certificate of authenticity.

Please note that these are handmade items, so each one is unique and individual products may vary slightly from the images shown. 

This is a reduction-method print, which means the block the print is made from is progressively destroyed during the process. This means that the limited-edition run will only ever be the only copies in existence.

Artist's proofs (AP) of this design are also available for a discounted price. These are copies with imperfections that did not make the limited edition, but are still unique and beautiful artworks.

Printed artwork size on A4 paper: ~ 175 x 245 mm

Mountboard external dimensions: ~300 x 387mm

Mountboard aperture dimensions: ~200 x 287mm

Framed external dimensions: ~ 328 x 415mm

Frame width: ~20mm

Framing service:

The frames for my prints are made from Oak. These come fitted with Clarity+ perspex, offering a scratch-resistant and more lightweight alternative to glass. I have partnered with eFrame to provide high quality mounts and frames at an accessible price point. eFrame are committed to sustainability and all their suppliers are PEFC and FSC certified.

eFrame provide a wide array of product choices, so if you would like to order a bespoke mount and frame, please follow this link to purchase your mount and frame directly from them.