Animal magic

Animal Magic, the classic BBC television show broadcast from the 1960s to the 1980s, saw Johnny Morris wittingly apply jovial voiceovers to animals at Bristol Zoo. 

This hit TV-show, along with 1960s book Treasures of the Natural World, is the source of inspiration for British-artist Robert Clarke’s new exhibition of painted and screen printed animal illustrations, aptly named Animal Magic, which opens tonight.

Clarke’s exploration of the animal kingdom continues after his successful exhibition, The A-Z of Dogs, which depicted all manner of dog species. Though an alphabet of canine drawings proved a little too much for the artist.

‘I’m in dog hell at the moment,’ he asserts, ‘Hence I moved onto other animals including pandas, gorillas and polar bears.

‘The canine exhibition was very specific, and this show has given me the freedom to interact with the environment. It has allowed me to moved on to the next place with my art, mentally and physically,’ he adds.

The St Martins School of art graduate lovingly captures the animals, breathing new life and character into the animals he draws, which include an array of wild beasts.

Over 20 large-scale paintings and prints will be on show until the end of July at the Modern Pantry in London’s Clerkenwell.

Similarly to Morris and even David Attenborough, Clarke’s fondness for the animal kingdom is evident. His artisan drawings certainly show the magic of the natural world. 

Animal Magic by Robert Clarke at the Modern Pantry, St John’s Square, Clerkenwell,  London EC1V, runs from the 16 May to the end of July