Collection: The fisher king

This original pastel painting depicts a Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) perched on a spray of pussy willow in early spring bloom, its jewel-bright plumage a vivid contrast against the soft, muted tones of the background. One of Britain's most iconic and instantly recognisable birds, the kingfisher is a resident of clean, slow-moving rivers, streams and lakes throughout the UK, where it hunts with extraordinary precision, diving at speed to catch small fish in the shallows below. Despite its brilliance, it is a surprisingly secretive bird — more often heard as a flash of electric blue vanishing upstream than seen at rest. This painting captures a rare moment of stillness, the bird alert and watchful, perched amongst the delicate catkins of a willow just coming into flower — a quintessentially British spring scene. Painted in soft pastels, the work conveys both the luminous intensity of the kingfisher's colouring and the quiet beauty of its riverside habitat.

Choose from an Original or a Print; either on Fine Art paper or on canvas, stretched, framed, or rolled.