Badger, from The Wind In The Willows
12" x 24", Watercolor on Strathmore 140 lb cold press, 1980
I painted this in 1980, when I was 16 years old. I had long been a fan of ‘The Wind In The Willows”, by Scottish novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. I especially loved and was inspired by the illustrations by E. H. Shepherd in the 1931 edition (Shepherd also illustrated A.A. Milne’s seminal “Winnie the Pooh”, in 1926). The books, featuring the irascible Toad, his companions Mole, Badger and Ratty, and their ongoing rivalry/warfare with the local Weasels and Stoats have remained beloved by children for nearly a century.
Interestingly, it was A. A. Milne, the author of Winnie The Pooh, who adapted the novel for its first stage production as “Toad of Toad Hall” in 1929.
Badger’s stuffy but steadfast upper class character especially appealed to me, with his aura of dependability and calm kindliness. I pictured him here, dressed in his sleeping gown and cap, carrying a candle in a Victorian candle holder, as he wakes in the middle of the night to answer his front door to Toad. I added a hint of my native New Zealand with some muted ferns at bottom left.
I was already experimenting with glazes and wet on wet techniques back then, as can be seen in the pom pom atop his sleeping cap and the bleeding of the candle flame. I painted the stripes on his sleeping jacket while moist to soften their edges. I’m quite happy with and nostalgic about this example of my mid-teens work.
