Longhorn Heifer

SOLD

Longhorns are all the rage around here at the moment and there are herds everywhere. I believe the meat is lean and good and is popular with the posher kinds of butchers.

The calves are very cute and the adults seem to be gentle and tolerant, which is a good job as their long down-curved horns look like they could do some damage.

This first-year heifer is just showing her horns.

Alpacas

To buy

What strange animals Alpacas are. There's something 'sheepish' about them but they mew to each other and are as nervous as rabbits. They are, of course, camelids from South America and are much valued for their super-fine wool.

Every year an Alpaca Show is held near to us at Purston Manor, and breeders from all over the country bring their animals to sell and swap. This has become a permanent fixture in our calendar.

They are remarkably variable in colour, from almost pure white to a deep chocolate brown, but most seem to be a rich cream colour.

As timid as mice, they don't like being petted, but can be trained quite easily on a halter. They look like recently domesticated creatures to me, always gazing at the horizon as if searching for the gravelly wastes of the High Andes!

I will be painting Alpacas a lot more I think.

Tamworth Pig Portrait

To buy

I think, on balance, the Tamworth is my favourite pig. Gloucester Old Spots and Oxford Sandy and Blacks come close, but Tamworths are full of spirit and character. Their long straight snouts betray a wild boar ancestry more than many modern breeds.

I've worked this image up from the sketches and photos I made at last year's Royal Show. Sadly, 2009 is the last Royal I believe, and last year was certainly quieter than I remember when I was a kid. There weren't many pigs, mainly due to Blue Tongue travel restrictions.

However, those pigs that were there were thoroughly entertaining - especially the younger animals that ran their bowler-hatted, white-coated minders ragged.

Sleepy Woodpigeon

To buy

This tubby Woodpigeon was sitting in my neighbour's tree yesterday, asleep! It was enjoying the late evening sun which was making the normally muted colours glow. This species has become much commoner over the last few years, especially in gardens where they are often quite tame.

I particularly liked the way the breast feathers engulfed the bird's perch.

I said it was asleep, but in reality like all wild things, it was only cat-napping and the slightest noise caused a little yellow eye to open.