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Stop Feeding The Birds - Large Limited Edition

Mark Davies British Artist

  • Throughout my earlier ‘Storyteller’ works I have loved creating pieces of varying styles and scenes that showcased the wonder-full world of Mary Poppins. The narrative has always appealed as there is such quirky, randomness that glosses over a darker undertone that runs through.


    A long-running story that I have been building suggests an intense relationship between Mary and Bert, one built on dominance and a battle for control yet one driven by an unquestionable love for one another. There are further suggestions to this within this crazy and bizarre scene that is overrun by birds - well they were warned not to feed them!

    The working title for this piece was ‘A Spoonful Of F**k Knows!’ as I wanted to create something completely and utterly random! This scene set within Regents Park in London is a follow on from an earlier piece ‘Cast Off Your Shackles’ where this time a magical Carousel dominates the scene and provides the platform for so much detail to interact with it.

    The aim was to create a piece that is so intense, bold yet pretty, classic yet current and I hope that I have achieved that here. This piece along with others within my latest ‘Storyteller’ works showcases a slight shift where I have sought to bring pieces that might initially look classical bang up-to-date with references that suggest a much more current time frame. These may just simply be fun references that give the scene context to the lead characters who you don’t get to see or other more topical and political details.

    This was a cracking piece to create, incredibly challenging from a technical point of view but so worth it. I take equal satisfaction in placing two Flamingos within a giant tea cup (not much reference material for that!) to seeing my beautiful British Bulldog George make his debut, I might be biased but I think he might just steal the show!

    ‘Stop Feeding The Birds!’ is a showcase of how I love to create a scene that initially looks to be all things bright and beautiful yet the closer you look you notice things within the grass that shift things ever so slightly. It represents the acceptance to just how close darkness exists to light in this fairground ride that they call life, however the ultimate aim is for you to join me in celebrating Dear Old Blighty!

    1. Released: 2018
    2. Collection: A New Chapter
    3. Edition Size: 10
    4. Specification: Limited edition fine art print, hand signed by artist.
    5. Image Size: 32” x 24"
    6. Framed Size (Approx): 42” x 34"
    1. Get in touch for overseas delivery
    2. Please allow approximately 14 days for delivery, should you need delivery sooner please let us know.

Category: spo-default, spo-disabled

Type: Limited Edition

Commissions

When workload allows Mark embraces client commissions and has enjoyed amazing success to date. If you have been inspired by the work that you have seen and have a specific idea or simply a seed then please do get in touch.

Commission Enquiries

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    1. Get in touch for overseas delivery
    2. Please allow approximately 14 days for delivery, should you need delivery sooner please let us know.
View full product details
 

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  • With this piece I wanted to focus on creating emotion and feeling within the scene rather than a deep concept. The horse that takes centre stage shows so much emotion and is deep in thought, majestic almost. My aim is to first see the beautiful horse in its’ surroundings and then notice the pole, painted saddle and the cracked skin to reveal signs of a darker past. Now that the horse has broken free it has cast off the shackles of yesterday and embracing the freedom that comes from that.

    This is mirrored by the suggested relationship between Mary and Bert which shows a number of references to this and how they have brought what was once hidden into the open for all to see! Objects within the grass that typically shock are made to look beautiful as this is how the two love birds see what they have between each other.

    What I have created is a scene based on the original narrative that is set in parkland on a beautiful English Summers’ day with the dome of St Pauls showing over the treetops. A racecourse extends across the composition with riders and horses thundering by. Light as always plays a key role here creating warmth and calm whilst the brighter areas are there to represent hope.

    Butterflies flutter around the pole moving upwards, the style of these has been done in a way that relates to the flat colours of those used in the film as contrast to the background. Dandelions fill the grass to enhance the lightness and delicateness of the piece, there are tiny seed details where they are floating upwards. In the background there is Mary Poppins’ carpet bag and the white umbrella that she held within the park / fair scene with subtle hints of magical detail surrounding it. Birds are a key part of the film and I have includes two within the softened background, as well as Berts’ blue bow-tie that rests against Mary’s bag. Nestled within the grass is the signature Matryoshka doll that references my first published collection.

    Key characters from the story stand within the long grass, a disgruntled turtle and some penguins, of course! I deliberately left until last as it was a case of how on earth do you introduce such characters into such a beautiful scene without it looking random and stark. So what I have done is create a connection between one of the penguins and the horse where they are fixed on each other. There is subtle dream-like lighting detail and icons that are radiating off the penguin leading upwards to the horse, it creates something really wonderful and more importantly a talking point as to what is going on and why there is such a lovely affiliation.

    For me it epitomises what I am conveying through this image, beauty, intrigue, freedom, hope and subtle randomness. The two central penguins are deep in conversation, possibly gossiping about their love-struck friend!

    1. Released: 2021
    2. Collection: Storyteller
    3. Edition Size: 25 + 5AP
    4. Specification: Limited edition fine art print, hand signed by artist.
    5. Image Size: 25” x 18.5"
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    1. Get in touch for overseas delivery
    2. Please allow approximately 14 days for delivery, should you need delivery sooner please let us know.
View full product details

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