Whilst researching the UK endangered red lists for mammals and birds, I was taken aback by the breadth of species but also how seemingly familiar and everyday some of the entries were. Hedgehogs, House Sparrows and my choice Starlings stood out in that aspect. In this year’s RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, Starlings were the third most recorded bird and in recent months, I have seen large murmurations in Rising Sun Country Park and had a number trying to pinch my chips in Amble. Despite their seeming commonality since the 1960’s there has been a large decline in breeding pairs with a 53% population decrease reported for the period 1995-2020 (British Trust For Ornithology). Starlings have distinctive spotted plumage and are real characters being social, fast, cheeky and noisy. I’ve tried to capture some of those features in my triptych of linocuts.

Artist Gallery

Billy Hall

Born in Gateshead and living in Heaton, I have always enjoyed producing art in various mediums, whether in pen, watercolour, paper engineering or printing. I create pieces combining logic and creativity, trying to convey hidden meanings and invoke feelings. I like setting rules, processes and challenges within this, including working in squares on a small scale of around 7cm. Over the last few years, I can be found exploring Tyneside through a Walk Draw project capturing small landscape views in pen/pencil during a daily wander. I have carried out commissions of specific locations and created larger bespoke imaginary suburbs combining real and pop culture places. I have a love of printing and recently discovered a talent for linocutting images of birds.