On Saturday Chris and I went to Holme Fen, a wonderful lowland Birch forest just south of Peterborough. It is a remnant of old fen and a rather good habitat for adders. I have written more on my blog post at Pencil and Leaf. Black Adders from the Black Fens.
Reading old accounts it seems that there were quite a few black adders in the fens, difficult to see against the black peaty soils. The workers would encounter them regularly but I was glad to read “had a healthy respect” for them.
Adder Sketches
I am still thinking about how to develop the adder image. More sketches today. I wonder if I can redress the balance a bit and rather than portraying them as dangerous and frightening creatures have an adder-loving fen man with adders fondly clustering round, or perhaps 2 dancing adders ( the mating dance) with the peat diggers benignly in the distance.
Rough ideas A4 sketchbook
2 thumbnail ideas for a possible print.
I am also rather interested in their eyes. They are a beautiful orange red with a slit pupil unlike the grass snake and slow worm whose eyes have round pupils.
Watercolour sketches of the eyes; adder,grass snake, slowworm ( which is really a legless lizard, hence the eyelid)
Adders and Grass Snakes have no eyelids but a transparent scale called a brille which covers the eye and is part of their skin. Just before shedding this brille turns blueish, clouding the eye. After the old skin has peeled away, the adders eye is returned to its glowing brilliance. Amazing.
There is too much to explore about adders to leave it here and I will continue working on the images…more soon
For more adder love see artist Ben Waddam’s short film on a peat bog adder here.
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