Tom Wilson III

Below: "A single line of teeth like the tops of a mountain range is a section of a fallow deer  lower jaw."

Tom Wilson is a friend of mine from my days studying at Edinburgh College of Art. He has always had a fascination and passion for nature and wildlife and his practice has been to draw, paint and photograph his findings. Recently he started taking plaster casts to document his specimens, and lately his attentions have focused upon teeth.

 "I have collected a whole range of teeth, as part of my skull and natural found objects collection; deer jaws and teeth of cattle and sheep. I have sawn teeth in half so that children can see how they  are made and I have rare teeth, a woolly mammoth  and a cave bear tooth, with badger, fox and other predators. The collection of objects that I have built up includes objects which have been chewed and eaten, from hazel nuts by mice n voles, to trees gnawn by beavers and bark stripped by deer and I used these to create small plaster  casts. Together the collection enables you to have an insight into how animals live and behave and using the plaster then develops these insights into finished art pieces." Thomas Wilson

Above and below: casts from apples gnawed by rabbits.

Below: Cave Bear Tooth.

Tom Wilson II

Tom Wilson's work is documentation and meticulous observation from nature and from gathered natural findings. His house holds the makings of a fantastic museum of bird pellets, hides, bones, skulls, nests and other untold and unspeakable treasures, that hopefully will one day be available to everyone through a museum or series of books.

Cupping Circles

A tiny adventure made magical by catching up with a good friend and the gift of his wisdom and knowledge. Above: are some images from a sand stone cliff in Ayr of Cupping circles, prehistoric marks on the rock, Below: some beautiful lichen. 

Tom Wilson is incredibly knowledgeable about everything but especially natural history and geology so it is fantastic to spend time with this wonderful man and get a glimpse of his world. 

Tom Wilson

Today I am traveling to the west coast to catch up with an old art school colleague Tom Wilson. Tom's work was always rooted in his love of the wilderness and flora and fauna. Here are some examples of his studies of nests and  the wing and feather quarry of a sparrow hawk.
I am looking forward to experiencing his local knowledge and guide skills and experiencing the wilds of Ayrshire on a wild late November day.