89cm x 110cm. Coloured pencil on Fabriano Artistico cotton paper, mounted in relief.

Somewhere a little bit south of Toulouse I was with my wife and her parents and we happened to visit an iris farm, a sort of nursery that cultivated iris flowers. As we were walking amongst them to take a closer look I noticed that I was being followed by large cockerel, keeping his distance though only by a few metres. Behind him was what could be best described as his small hareem of hens which he seemed mindful to be keeping himself in front of at all times. I sensed a curiousity but also a vigilance in making sure that I didn’t get too close. As with the other large birds I’ve drawn, I felt that there was an intelligence behind those eyes.