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Gary Hodges
Gary Hodges (born 1954) is a British artist and publisher much admired internationally for his graphite pencil wildlife art. His original drawings and limited edition prints have sold widely in the UK and throughout the world and is collected by large numbers of ordinary citizens, many not previously seeing themselves as "art collectors". During his career he has sold over 110,000 limited edition prints from 130 editions. His popularity has influenced and encouraged many other artists to develop intricate styles with pencil. He has a close connection to various environmental and wildlife conservation groups for whom he provides considerable financial support.
Born in South London in 1954 he is the son of a fishmonger and secretary. Surrounded by pets as a child he grew up with a strong passion for animals and was given wildlife books which gave him considerable knowledge of many different species. He was also influenced by his love of comics such as X Men and Spiderman and at school he was encouraged to pursue his love of art, especially drawing. During this time his mother fell ill and died. He gained "O" level qualifications early but went on to unsuccessfully study for "A" levels and left school at the age of sixteen for a job in the printing trade.
In 1978 he met his civil partner, professional photographer and environmentalist Dave Currey. This introduced him to the world of conservation and environmental activism. In early 1980 he left his printing job and they travelled to the western US and Mexico, where they saw wildlife such as whales, sealions, ospreys, and dolphins. It was his first real experience of wilderness.
In 1981 and 1982 he was commissioned to illustrate two articles in Wildlife Magazine. He picked up other work to design a leaflet and illustrate many press releases for WWF. His drawings were exhibited at the Hampstead Open Air Exhibition in 1981 and the Henry-Brett Galleries in Chelsea, London and Gloucester in 1982. By this time he started working with children in Brixton, south London, moving to run and help build an adventure playground in Elephant and Castle, a deprived area of south London. In 1983 his drawings were highly commended at the Wildlife Illustrator of the Year Exhibition at the Natural History Museum, London and he had his first solo show at the Everyman Foyer Gallery, Hampstead in 1984.
In 1987 Greenpeace commissioned the first two of nine limited edition prints over the next few years. His father was diagnosed with cancer and died in 1988, a loss which caused him to re-evaluate his life. The huge sell-out success of the first Greenpeace editions encouraged him to concentrate on his art.
After visiting many potential art and book publishers in the 1980s Hodges could have been dismayed by their dismissal, stating that "black & white doesn't sell." Some encouraged him to work in colour. However, the huge success of the first five Greenpeace limited edition prints, selling out editions of 850 prints, helped him decide to publish himself. This was very uncommon at the time.
Hodges has described his technique to the public while artist in residence at the prestigious Nature in Art museum in Gloucester, UK over many years. He has also provided access to his drawing through time-lapse photography in two of the films made about him and in magazines. He uses a range of graphite pencils from grade 8H to 5B, a scalpel knife for sharpening the pencils, trimming paper and creating a bevel on plastic erasers which he uses to bring out highlights. His references have usually been his own photographs, and in more recent years largely taken from the wild. He has expressed real concern over conditions and the ethics of zoos. A drawing may take him many months, with them taking longer in more recent years. He draws on Fabriano 5 paper, also reproducing images as limited editions on the same paper to maintain quality.
His early Greenpeace drawings of Green Turtle (1987) and Narwhal (1987) have become collector's pieces with the prints first selling for £8.50, more recently the Green turtle exchanging hands for £3,500.00 on the secondary art market (the resale of art following its original acquisition from the artist). During this time Snow Leopard (1993) became his fastest selling print (edition of 850), although this has since been surpassed. Its scarcity created a secondary demand with it selling for around £3,000 many times and has reached £3,200. The investment potential of his prints has attracted additional collectors to his following.
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Gary Hodges
Gary Hodges (born 1954) is a British artist and publisher much admired internationally for his graphite pencil wildlife art. His original drawings and limited edition prints have sold widely in the UK and throughout the world and is collected by large numbers of ordinary citizens, many not previously seeing themselves as "art collectors". During his career he has sold over 110,000 limited edition prints from 130 editions. His popularity has influenced and encouraged many other artists to develop intricate styles with pencil. He has a close connection to various environmental and wildlife conservation groups for whom he provides considerable financial support.
Born in South London in 1954 he is the son of a fishmonger and secretary. Surrounded by pets as a child he grew up with a strong passion for animals and was given wildlife books which gave him considerable knowledge of many different species. He was also influenced by his love of comics such as X Men and Spiderman and at school he was encouraged to pursue his love of art, especially drawing. During this time his mother fell ill and died. He gained "O" level qualifications early but went on to unsuccessfully study for "A" levels and left school at the age of sixteen for a job in the printing trade.
In 1978 he met his civil partner, professional photographer and environmentalist Dave Currey. This introduced him to the world of conservation and environmental activism. In early 1980 he left his printing job and they travelled to the western US and Mexico, where they saw wildlife such as whales, sealions, ospreys, and dolphins. It was his first real experience of wilderness.
In 1981 and 1982 he was commissioned to illustrate two articles in Wildlife Magazine. He picked up other work to design a leaflet and illustrate many press releases for WWF. His drawings were exhibited at the Hampstead Open Air Exhibition in 1981 and the Henry-Brett Galleries in Chelsea, London and Gloucester in 1982. By this time he started working with children in Brixton, south London, moving to run and help build an adventure playground in Elephant and Castle, a deprived area of south London. In 1983 his drawings were highly commended at the Wildlife Illustrator of the Year Exhibition at the Natural History Museum, London and he had his first solo show at the Everyman Foyer Gallery, Hampstead in 1984.
In 1987 Greenpeace commissioned the first two of nine limited edition prints over the next few years. His father was diagnosed with cancer and died in 1988, a loss which caused him to re-evaluate his life. The huge sell-out success of the first Greenpeace editions encouraged him to concentrate on his art.
After visiting many potential art and book publishers in the 1980s Hodges could have been dismayed by their dismissal, stating that "black & white doesn't sell." Some encouraged him to work in colour. However, the huge success of the first five Greenpeace limited edition prints, selling out editions of 850 prints, helped him decide to publish himself. This was very uncommon at the time.
Hodges has described his technique to the public while artist in residence at the prestigious Nature in Art museum in Gloucester, UK over many years. He has also provided access to his drawing through time-lapse photography in two of the films made about him and in magazines. He uses a range of graphite pencils from grade 8H to 5B, a scalpel knife for sharpening the pencils, trimming paper and creating a bevel on plastic erasers which he uses to bring out highlights. His references have usually been his own photographs, and in more recent years largely taken from the wild. He has expressed real concern over conditions and the ethics of zoos. A drawing may take him many months, with them taking longer in more recent years. He draws on Fabriano 5 paper, also reproducing images as limited editions on the same paper to maintain quality.
His early Greenpeace drawings of Green Turtle (1987) and Narwhal (1987) have become collector's pieces with the prints first selling for £8.50, more recently the Green turtle exchanging hands for £3,500.00 on the secondary art market (the resale of art following its original acquisition from the artist). During this time Snow Leopard (1993) became his fastest selling print (edition of 850), although this has since been surpassed. Its scarcity created a secondary demand with it selling for around £3,000 many times and has reached £3,200. The investment potential of his prints has attracted additional collectors to his following.
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