Craig Y Aderyn Loomery

Guillemots in Ceredigion 

Bird Rock, Newquay, the main sea bird colony in Ceredigion. A notably different affair to the intensity of Elegug loomery posted here a few days ago. The birds have much more space, on the evenly fractured strata of rock; perfectly flat ledges for securing eggs with overhangs and deep recesses for shelter. So why comparatively few birds in relation to suitable nest sites?

The behaviour is much calmer on this loomery. From an inspirational point of view, the beauty of this site is its geology and the birds interaction with it. The loomery is on a headland defined by a fold of evenly layered rock strata arching in a single breach into the sea. Before the cliff submerges it levels out, precisely horizontal to form the ledges that the guillemots especially favour (there are also razorbill and shag mixed in amongst the loomery). Close inspection with a scope reveals more birds deep inside the cliff, jammed in niches and nestled between columns. Their environment is a tessellating matrix of dynamic rock, moving on every sharp angle, dripping with the heavy colours of mineral ore. Light hits the cliff after midday. 

um bu. az cy ru (cr)

New - Biscay Bonxie

Another print for the Biscay Bonxie series posted here in the past, this time full A1 page. The bird remains the same size, so I have extended the view of ocean surrounding it. I want to convey a sense of the vast, unforgiving space these birds occupy, which for me is the essence of their character and my wonder of them.

Print from the first (bottom) plate

Second (top) plate ready for the paper

Worrying times, this method only gives one print

Finished print