The Old Burrow



The Old

Burrow





About



"The Old Burrow is a quiet, hidden place between worlds - a sanctuary of story and imagination. Through my illustrations and writings, I'm creating portals to this living, breathing world where nature and folklore intertwine.
It's a place for those who long for something timeless - a return to wonder, to stories and places that feel as though they have always existed. Whether though paintings or books, my hope is to open a small door into a that world for others to step through."



THE story






The Old burrow began as a secret, rooted in childhood days where nature and imagination shared the same luminosity. I wandered freely through bramble flanked lanes, softly lit shores and rock pools, over ancient barrows and through misty woods. At my Grandparents' home, stories, songs and curious facts wove themselves into that landscape - The Wind in the Willows, Alice in Wonderland - until the hills and woods seemed to belong to the same tales. That blending of place and story became an unseen map inside me, leading to this realm of words and pictures, where you might also find yourself at home.




THE aspiration





Part Hobbit hole, part Mad hatters tea party, The Old Burrow's rambling tunnels are portals into the forest of the imagination.

It is my humble aspiration is to keep a portal open for all those who love the imagination, whether that be through a simple greetings card, original art or an illustrated book.

Inspired by the landscape of fairy-tales and reminiscent of a bygone era, my watercolours have been described as delicate, detailed and whimsical. It is my hope that these ethereal images may be a portal through which one is returned to that silent space upon which the imagination plays and wise truths are told. Where wonder and awe may yet again be the language of of the heart.

Adorning our homes with images that inspire our hearts, helps us to create our own sanctuary. A place to restore peace, health and to encourage joy and creativity.





Symbols and Sigils



Symbols of The Old Burrow



In the world of The Old Burrow, certain symbols appear again and again - ribbons, ruffs, crowns and bells. These quiet details are more than decoration; they are gentle markers of love, memory, and belonging. A ribbon tied around a paw might mark a promise, a friendship, or simply the acknowledgment of kindred souls. A ruff lends a creature a sense of quiet dignity, as though they've stepped from the realm of myth to the edge of our world and allowed us to see them. Crowns are not for rule but for reverence - a sign that even the smallest beings may be noble. And bells? Bells are for listening, for making thresholds, for moments when the invisible becomes near. These symbols and sigils grow naturally from the world of The Old Burrow, often arriving before their meaning is known. They are the souls embroidery, stitched into each painting with quiet intent. An intent that the imaginal knows and, we remember.



Whisperwork



WhisperWork



By the time you’ve reached this far down the path, you may already sense that there is something a little different about the way things are made here.


Over time, I came to realise that my artwork didn’t quite belong to any familiar tradition. It wasn’t just illustration, or watercolour, or storytelling. It was something quieter. Something that asked to be named.


WhisperWork is what I’ve begun to call it.


It is a way of painting that listens first. It begins not with a plan but with a pause—a kind of soft attunement to the imaginal world. Sometimes, the images arrive like echoes from some older place; at other times, they emerge slowly, like dawn on a hedge-rowed lane. This is not just art as expression, but art as reverence. A conversation with the unseen. A quiet collaboration with wonder.


Within the world of the Old Burrow, WhisperWork is said to have its roots in the ancient traditions of Eldhame. Much like the illuminators of old—those who painted tiny gold-leafed windows into the sacred—practitioners of WhisperWork create small, enchanted thresholds. Each piece is a kind of portal, offering the viewer a glimpse into the in-between: the misty hour before morning, the hush beneath the hedgerow, the story between stories.


I offer this name not to draw a boundary, but to invite recognition. Perhaps you, too, have longed for a gentler rhythm. Perhaps you know the magic of the quiet thing that calls without clamour.


If so, welcome. There’s a place for you here.



Process



Process



Below is a small snapshot of the stages an artwork goes though as it is coming into being. I hope you find it interesting - please feel free to contact me with any questions and I will do my best to answer them.



Process





I regularly have no real memory of how a sketch is created but once it is done, I transfer it to Arche watercolour paper and start the slow and patient process of laying down washes.



layers





As the layers build, a small portal to another world is created and I begin to become aware of the landscape outside the picture frame, and a beautiful calm that seems to be a substrate for all things both imagined and real.



coming to life





I often save the eyes til last. Once they are, in the creature immediately has soul mood and character



becoming real





About halfway through, the artwork now has its own gravity. No longer hidden in the mists of imagination, it is well on its way to becoming real.



Finished piece





The artwork is created with high quality pigments Arche paper. Each piece can take between 30 and 50 hours from sketch to finished piece. After spending so much time in the scene and with the characters I can have a sense of not wanting the painting to finish, or wanting to climb into the scene. It can sometimes be difficult to let go of a piece and to start another.


Contact



The Old Burrow