Burley Sentinel – Original Ink Drawing

At the back of a gravelly car park in the curious village of Burley, deep in the New Forest, I spotted this cranky old tree standing like a lone sentinel. Burley’s a place that feels halfway between a folktale and a low-budget ghost tour—wild ponies nibbling bushes, cows straying into the road, and enough stories of witches and beasts to keep your imagination busy.

This particular tree looked like it had seen off at least three centuries of smuggling, bad weather, and beast sightings. Half-stump, half-scarecrow, it somehow manages to look both haunted and defiant—just like the stories this village keeps spinning.

Drawn on location in black ink, this one-off work captures a weather-beaten figure that somehow refuses to fade into the background. It’s part of an ongoing series of drawings that celebrate trees as witnesses to human oddity, folklore, and stubbornness.

• Title: Burley Sentinel
• Medium: Lightfast black ink on 150gsm acid-free paper
• Size: 25 x 25 cm (square)
• Signed: Hand-signed by the artist
• Date: 19 April 2024
• Location: Burley, New Forest, England
• Framing: Ships unframed (framed image shown for example only)
• Packaging: Sent flat in archival sleeve with board backing
• Includes: Certificate of authenticity