GARY HODGES

Gary's prints have a huge following and are very collectable. If you are new to his work, see below for a biography. I have been selling Gary's pencil drawing prints of animals for the last sixteen years, with the proceeds going to charity; on the secondary market most of his prints now sell for many times their original cost.

PLEA FOR THE RAINFOREST 1999 - L/E of 1500 ONE ONLY - ARTIST PROOF No. 147/150 PRICE: £100 + £5 Special Delivery This print has been kindly donated by Gary Hodges All the money from the sale will be donated to conservation This is one of Gary's favourite images. These rain soaked Orangutans became the subject of a drawing after Gary had visited Borneo.

THE FAMILY (MEERKATS) 2005 - L/E of 1250 PRICE £120 Large print approx. 86 x 35 cm   email to order or enquire

PREVIOUS RELEASE
16th MAY 2006
ANGEL EYES

This magnificent full length image of a Bengal tiger was Gary's last release.
Image size - a huge 93 x 25 cm
Edition size: 850 + 85 Artist Proofs




As this is one of the lowest edition sizes of Gary's prints in recent years it sold out on publication.
Please email using the "CONTACT" link above to order.
PRICE: £130 inc. Special Delivery
SOLD OUT
All profit goes to Conservation charities.

Gary's prints are built up over many hours using many grades of pencil, as can be seen from the photo below of an early stage of the "Angel Eyes" drawing:

ABOUT GARY HODGES...

I wrote this biography several years ago - it now seems to be the standard across the web!

THE MAN

Born in 1954, Gary has had a deep love for nature since childhood. In 1979 he began applying his keen sense of observation to his drawings and is now Britain's leading wildlife pencil artist. He gave up his day job around 1989 to concentrate on his drawings and, shortly afterwards, began to publish his limited edition prints himself. By retaining control of every stage, from drawing, to publishing, to selling, Gary has never had to compromise on the very high standards he has set himself. He is a genuinely sincere and generous human being who cares quietly, but passionately, about the conservation of the animals he draws. Through his drawings he has already raised his first quarter of a million pounds for charity and is well on his way towards the second quarter million - a phenomenal achievement for one individual in such a short time.

THE DRAWINGS

Gary's drawings stand out from the crowd because he combines a remarkable technical ability with a deep feeling for the subject and a sensitive understanding of its individual character. His sense of design and composition, often focussing on only a part of the animal, always results in a striking image that demands the viewer's attention and thought. Others have tried to achieve the same effect in pencil, but the result often looks ordinary by comparison.

Gary may use very many different grades of pencil in a drawing. Each grade is put to good effect as he painstakingly builds up tones and textures, working on small areas at a time. The range of textures he creates - tough hide, fluffy fur, preened feathers, dry scales - is extraordinary. Often there is a touch of humour - the big paw or menacing tooth - but in the end it is the eye that fixes itself upon the viewer. It is here that Gary begins each drawing.

His original drawings now regularly appear in Christie's Wildlife Art auctions - "Supreme" sold for £16,215 in 1998 and "Mother's Love" for £10,575 (double the estimate) in May 2000. Gary exhibits annually at the Society of Wildlife Artists Exhibition. "Soulmates" sold there in 2007 for a record price for Gary's drawings of £16500 - it was also voted "Visitors' Choice" - the favourite piece of the 401 on show in as voted for by the thousands of visitors attending the exhibition.

THE PRINTS

Gary's first two limited edition prints were published by Greenpeace in 1987. He began publishing prints himself in 1990, having been turned down by fine art publishers because "black and white" prints "wouldn't sell". At first he sold, slowly but steadily, through exhibitions and mail order catalogues of charities. An edition of 850 prints might take two or three years to sell out. Then, as his talents began to be more widely appreciated, galleries began to take his prints in greater numbers. Following his hugely successful exhibition and auction at the Mall Galleries in 1994, demand for his work escalated and he began to sell out his editions within a matter of weeks. A secondary market was created and prices of some early prints began to rise sharply in value. Popular subjects disappear from galleries at the release price within weeks. In recent times Gary has reduced the number of releases to around one per year, concentrating on large subjects, while also introducing novel forms of his work in the form of bronze sculptures and canvas editions. The latter enable him to go beyond the size limits of the paper printing process.

Many of the early prints now command huge premiums on the secondary market, not so much because they are much scarcer but because they are widely distributed, sitting in homes around the world, and rarely come up for sale.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT GARY AND HIS WORK PLEASE SEE:
GARY HODGES COLLECTORS SITE AT
www.garyhodges.org.uk