James Stevens

This comical scene explores the moment a wonderful gorilla is caught red-handed with his cigar, looking out of the piece with a shocked expression it perfectly captured the intended humorous emotion I wanted to create. Also using selective colouring and detail I was able to draw the attention to the out of place item, emphasizing the oddity of the gorilla's use of it. Created using graphite, ink and coloured pencils. Part of Nature’s Eyes collection, exploring the idea that certain consumptions, habits and objects have become so natural to us in our everyday lives we become oblivious to their impact. Yet from nature's eyes, all is not as it seems.

The 21st century brought hundreds of new scientific and technological advancements, one we could do without was the selfie stick, yet it has become commonplace all over the globe. This piece perfectly captures the bizarre nature of a selfie stick, allowing us to appreciate how absurd it is from natures perspective. I continued using the animal kingdom to outline our abnormal consumptions, habits or behaviour with this wonderfully detailed and realistic piece. I decided to selectively colour the object, emphasising the odd behaviour and creating a visual barrier between our world and theirs. I love the simplicity of the expression and captured moment in this piece, further accentuated by the realistic portrayal of the ape and its interaction with the stick. Created using graphite, ink and coloured pencils. Part of Nature’s Eyes collection, exploring the idea that certain consumptions, habits and objects have become so natural to us in our everyday lives we become oblivious to their impact. Yet from nature's eyes, all is not as it seems.

Escapism, "the tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, especially by seeking entertainment or engaging in fantasy" This piece portrays a young gorilla deep in focus as he plays his game. Commonplace in most households and lives, our entertainment and gaming consumption grows ever more popular, acting as escapism to another land or world whereby anything is possible. Created using graphite, ink and coloured pencils. Part of Nature’s Eyes collection, exploring the idea that certain consumptions, habits and objects have become so natural to us in our everyday lives we become oblivious to their impact. Yet from nature's eyes, all is not as it seems.

Vandal: a person who deliberately destroys or damages property belonging to others. Before I start, I first want to state that I fully support the art form of graffiti, and I only use it in this case to portray our nature of destruction and illegality. I started this piece with a pursuit to represent the commonality of vandalism in our everyday lives. I created this piece using this wonderful ape to highlight the issue from nature's standpoint. Placing these animals in the scene provides a new and unique outlook, portraying humour at the limelight of our societies issues. Created using graphite, ink and coloured pencils. Part of Nature’s Eyes collection, exploring the idea that certain consumptions, habits and objects have become so natural to us in our everyday lives we become oblivious to their impact. Yet from nature's eyes, all is not as it seems.

This piece portrays a wonderful scene where a mother and daughter ape share fast food, a common scene in our everyday human lives. I believe when looking at this piece we begin to see the larger picture, one of the impacts this throwaway society and consumption causes for our race and our world. This piece became a real labour of love. It was both a challenge in its complexity and detail. Works like this allow me to pursue a greater branch of creative exploration and meaning with my work. Created using graphite, ink and coloured pencils. The piece is part of "Nature’s Eyes" collection, exploring the idea that certain consumptions, habits and objects have become so natural to us in our everyday lives we become oblivious to their impact. Yet from nature's eyes, all is not as it seems.