If there is no sidebar on the left, please click here
 |
 |
 |
"We must be free or
die, who speak the tongue that Shakespeare spake,
the faith and morals hold, which Milton held......"
Wordsworth
 |
Friends should never be treated as this British Government has, so far, treated the Gibraltarians.
The People of the Rock still, however wish to remain British so
or
Writing to: The Gibraltar Government Office, Arundel Great Court, 179 Stand, London WC2R 1EH
This is just my own personal support page for the People of Gibraltar. It is not connected with any group or Government Department.
Just a Brief Glimpse of the Rock's History
The Rock of Gibraltar is a popular byword for solidity and strength. Located in Europe, at the entrance of the Mediterranean, the Rock acts as a beacon signalling the position of the Strait of Gibraltar, the narrow neck which separates Europe from Africa and provides the only passage between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The 6.5 km square beacon towers majestically alone above the surrounding countryside which differs geologically from the limestone Rock. Before Columbus sailed to America, Gibraltar was considered to be the end of the earth.
A sandy isthmus connects it to the Spanish mainland but it has been a British territory since 1704 and, under the British Treaty of Accession, it is a member of the European Union. British bobbies patrol the streets and the British flag is flown with great pride.
This Rock of Gibraltar is indeed an ancient land, steeped in history from prehistoric times. From remains found on Gibraltar, it seems likely that the Rock was one of the last refuges of the Neanderthals as modern humans emerged from the African continent and began to spread across Europe and Asia. The Rock provided these early dwellers with the caves they needed for shelter and safety in their last days. Over 140 caves have been discovered so far. In Neanderthal times, a sandy flat plain stretched into the distance towards the Mediterranean because, with the colder climate of those times, the sea level, off the eastern cliffs of the Rock, was lower. Hunting must have been good, for, in those ancient days Gibraltar was full of animals such as wild horses and cattle, rabbits, red deer, with now extinct species of rhinoceros and elephant . Clambering over the cliffs there would have been ibexes, the wild mountain goats. There were some drawbacks of course. These ancient dwellers also had to contend with the predators attracted by the good hunting, such as leopards, lions and hyenas and would have been grateful for the caves.
Geology of the Rock
The reason why Gibraltar is a lump of limestone, standing proudly above the
surrounding land is because of events which took place about 200 million years
ago, long before the first person ever walked this Earth. This planet's
constantly moving continents looked very different from how they do today in the
Age of the Dinosaurs. Limestone, of course, is the remnants of of shells of
millions upon millions of crustaceans who lived and died in those ancient seas.
Their shells settled on the sea bed, slowly building a thicker and thicker layer
over over millions of year. In time these layers of shells solidify into
limestone rock.
The continual motion of the continental plates push and strain against each other. The African plate pushed into Europe, crushing the land up into folds where the plates met, creating the mountain ranges we know today, such as the Alps. This pushing and crushing continues and more pieces of land are pushed up out of their previous positions. During these times a piece of land is pushed to the west, to where Gibraltar now lies. The reason why it is so geologically different from the surrounding flatter lands is that Gibraltar is comprised of younger rocks pushed out of place and turned over completely by the Earth forces. The land from the Radar on the north side of the Rock, to the top Cable Car Station and on to O'Hara's Battery, was, at one time, underneath.
With the tumultuous pushing of the Earths continents, the Rock is pushed down and raised several more times and the level of the sea falls and rises. For a while, the Rock is an island, then rejoins the mainland and the churning of the Earth continued. The climate too changes between hot and cold, and the creatures and plants colonising the Rock change through the millennia. Sands are blown against Gibraltar's eastern side, creating an enormous sand dune, which is there to this day, although covered over in parts.
Today, Gibraltar is a narrow peninsula jutting out from the end of the Iberian Peninsula and linked to it by a narrow, sandy, isthmus. This isthmus is now covered by buildings and a runway. This sandy isthmus can still be seen on the surface in places, littered with marine shells from when the sea last separated Gibraltar from the mainland, probably about 120,000 years ago. Although many people still refer to Gibraltar as an island, which it has been historically, today, it is actually a peninsula.
Gibraltar is divided geographically into several zones. It is 6 kilometres
long and, on the eastern side, sheer cliffs run its length, reaching their
highest altitude of 426 metres above sea level close to O'Hara's Battery. The
base is dominated by the massive prehistoric sand dune and tall slopes on either
side created over the years by pieces of the Rock constantly collapsing towards
the sea. Sandy beaches lie between this mass of fallen rocks and the sea. On the
western side of the Peninsula the scene is very different. On this side, the
slopes fall gradually to reach the sea. Most of the lower half of the Rock is
occupied by the city and the urban area has now spread westwards within the port
area as land has been reclaimed from the sea.
The top parts are given over to a Nature Reserve. Because this western
side never experienced the enormous prehistoric sand which was blown against the
eastern side - the Rock's gradient steepens dramatically offshore and the Bay is
over 800 metres deep.
To the south side of the main structure of the Rock there are rocky platforms
which were created by the action of the waves through the ages. They mark
former sea levels. The higher of these platforms is known as Windmill Hill, and
the lower one Europa Flats. Narrower and lower parts of these platforms, on the
edges, form rocky beaches.
In the eighth century BC, ancient sailors from the east arrived in this area, again guided in by the Rock and appear to have been attracted to large marine caves close to these southern platforms. It is known that Phoenicians and ancient Greeks visited this region and, some cave paintings of sailing ships in caves near Gibraltar suggest even earlier civilisations, maybe the Mycaeneans might have sailed to the Strait as early as the sixteenth century BC.
Pillars of Hercules
According to the legend of Hercules, he travelled through this part of the world on his 10th labour and the legend relates how he opened up the Strait creating the Pillars of Hercules. These legendary pillars can be seen today. The Rock of Gibraltar comprising one pillar and the Jbel Musa the other. During the Spanish Empire, particularly under King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella's reign, a large silver coin known as a piece of eight was struck. This crown-sized coin featured the pillars of Hercules on the reverse decorated with an entwined ribbon. During the reign of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V of Habsburg, a another large silver coin called the Thaler, was used alongside the Spanish currency. Spain's American colonies were, then, under the Austrian House of Habsburg, and both these currencies were used in America. They were eventually merged as the Peso.
When the North American colonies broke away from Britain, the first USA Coinage Law in 1792 adopted the Thaler as its currency. This was later to become the US Dollar and the $ is the Spanish symbol for the Pillars of Hercules.
The Strait was last opened up about 5 million years ago, before humans inhabited the planet. For many ages the Mediterranean had been land-locked and over these ages all the waters had been evaporated. Then, the land moved and a tremendous fissure opened where the Strait lies today. The Atlantic Ocean surged into it in a truly spectacular event. A gigantic, ten thousand foot waterfall was created at the entrance to the Strait, over which the Atlantic Ocean poured into the basin, filling it in just one hundred years.
The Strait is a narrow channel through which winds are funnelled. Violent storms, especially from the east and south-west, develop quickly with little warning and are well-known to sailors. For example, the east winds, are known as Levantes. Sailors taking these risks created certain safeguards. It is recognised that Gorham's Cave, as it is known today (one of the caverns at the foot of the northern pillar) was a place of worship. It may well have been a place where sailors passing through said prayers or thanks for safe passage.
Many pieces of pottery of Phoenician, Carthaginian and Greek origin have been found in this area, together with glass beads, amulets and scarabs engraved with classical and Egyptian gods.
For many years Gibraltar acted as a valuable stopping off point and place of
worship but no settlers arrived. The Phoenicians preferred sites on river
estuaries or upstream and indeed they did have settlements by rivers close to
the Rock. While the Romans, who had cities nearby the Rock, never built one on
Gibraltar. However, in April 711 AD, following the death of the prophet
Mohammed, armies of Islamic warriors swept over North Africa from Arabia. By 710
AD they had reached the shores and were poised for the Islamic conquest of the
Strait and Europe.
The Visigoths who had deposed the Romans and ruled Spain were weak and divided.
Count Julian, the Visigothic who ruled over Ceuta in North Africa, was
surrounded. To divert the Muslims, he offered to assist them in their conquest
of Spain.
The assault on Spain was launched by a Berber Chief, Tarik-ibn-Ziyad, who was the Governor of Tangier. Crossing the Strait by night, he sailed in Visigothic ships and from Ceuta, not Tangier to avoid suspicion. Failing on his first attempt on Algeciras, he landed unseen on Gibraltar from where the Spanish conquest would begin. The Rock was probably only a bridgehead at that time and for the first four hundred years of occupation, it was only lightly fortified.
Except for a short period when Gibraltar was under Berber rule from Malaga, the 11th Century AD saw Gibraltar as a part of the Arab Kingdom of Seville. The increasing threat of invasion by North African tribes in 1068, made the Arab Governor of Algeciras begin the building of a fort on the Rock.
The Almohads, another North African sect, eventually captured Spain. The Almohads leader, Al-Mumin, ordered the building of the first city in Gibraltar. It was called the Medinat at-Fath - The City of Victory, and its foundations were laid on 19th May, 1160. Upon completion, Al-Mumin crossed the Strait and stayed in Gibraltar for about 2 months. At that time there also appears to have been an impressive windmill built on the top of the hill.
Between 1160 AD and 1300 AD, there were so many battles between Muslims or between Muslims and Christians that by 1252 AD there were only two Islamic Kingdoms left in Spain, Granada and Murcia. By 1309 AD, Spain's King Ferdinand IV had attacked Algeciras and then, finding how weak the Arabs now were on the Rock, sent Alonso Perez de Guzman to capture it. Gibraltar's garrison surrendered after just 4 weeks and Gibraltar's 1500 inhabitants were allowed to leave for North Africa.
Although the Spaniards repaired the fortress and shipyard, Gibraltar was considered too dangerous a place in which to live, so few people settled there at that time. To encourage settlement, Ferdinand offered "freedom from justice" to anybody who lived in Gibraltar for a year and a day. By 1333 AD, Abdul Malik, the son of the King of Morocco, laid siege to Gibraltar and, after about 18 weeks the garrison surrendered and the Rock was, once again, in Muslim hands. In 1462, after more sieges, the Spanish finally defeated the Muslims and recaptured Gibraltar. At this time Gibraltar became just another Spanish provincial town as the Rock's strategic value declined.
Again, there were problems enticing people to settle in Gibraltar and the Spanish King, Henry IV, widened Gibraltar's borders to cover most of the hinterland. At this time Gibraltar's economy and agriculture were developed, however, at the expense of the Rock's defences. The squabbles, however, continued with local feuds amongst the Spaniards and then, in 1474, King Henry died. He was succeeded by Queen Isabella who, after the fall of Granada in 1497 AD, used Gibraltar as a base port to launch an attack on North Africa. In 1499 AD the port was used to remove exiled Moors from Granada.
Queen Isabella, tiring of the constant squabbles among the Spaniards, issued a decree on 22nd December, 1501, declaring Gibraltar Crown property. On 10th July 1502, Gibraltar was given its Royal Warrant, granting it its Coat of Arms. The castle and the key were given in recognition of Gibraltar as the key "between these our kingdoms in the eastern and western seas and the sentinel and defence of the Strait of the said seas through which no ships or peoples of either of these seas can pass without sighting or calling at it."
1540 AD
However, the skirmishes in this area were not over yet. By the middle of the sixteenth century, Corsairs from the Barbary Coast, under their leader Barbarossa, hounded the region and in the summer of 1540, a large fleet or pirates raided Gibraltar.
Eventually, years after, the inhabitants of the Rock persuaded the Emperor, Charles V to build them a protective wall, one was built by the Italian engineer Calvi. The wall was extended to finally reach the top of the Rock during the reign of Phillip II, some years later.
1704 AD
Life went on quite peacefully until the beginning of the eighteenth century, when, on 17th July, 1704, a council of war was held aboard the English warship, Royal Catharine, just off the North African Town of Tetuan. The intent of this council was to capture Gibraltar, on behalf of Charles of Austria, the pretender to the Spanish throne. Just four days later the English fleet, under the command of Admiral Sir George Rooke, sailed into Gibraltar Bay. At 3pm, 1,800 English and Dutch marines landed on the isthmus, led by the Dutch Prince Hesse. Gibraltar was cut off. However, the Governor of Gibraltar refused to surrender and a massive bombardment of the town by the English fleet followed over the next few days. On 23rd July, 1,500 shots were fired against the town over 5 to 6 hours. Then landings were made in the south. In the morning the Governor gave in although things took a while to calm down.
Attacks and skirmishes carried on for some time but by 1726, trade between Spain and Gibraltar had resumed. Spain did lay siege on the Rock again in 1727 but, after many unsuccessful attempts to recapture it, they gave up in June of the same year.
Spain's final military attack on Gibraltar came many years later, in 1779. For this attempt to regain the Rock, the Spaniards teamed up with the French to launch a massive sustained onslaught which lasted almost four years. This became known as the Great Siege and was a severe test to the ingenuity and survival instincts of the garrison. As Sergeant Major Ince attempted to drill a tunnel to place a gun on a vantage point on the Rock, the first galleries were dug. He was tunnelling sideways to make ventilation shafts when it dawned on him that these exits would make the perfect gun positions. Some while later, a Lieutenant Koehler designed a carriage which enabled the guns on the cliffs to be positioned directly pointing down on the enemy. There are many stories of survival and heroism from these times.
1800s
More attacks and sieges followed but, during the nineteenth century, Gibraltar was able to develop quite peacefully. At the beginning of that century, the Rock was Nelson's base port and it was here that his body was brought after he fell in the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar. This more peaceful time allowed Important social changes to take place on the Rock. The inhabitants consisted of British, Genoese, Portuguese, Spanish, Jews and others. The civilian community was beginning to put down roots at last and these were the first roots of the present-day Gibraltarians.
1900s
The Rock's dockyards, commercial and detached moles were built. A project so huge it was to take a full 12 years to accomplish. In the late nineteenth and early years of the twentieth century, Gibraltar's water problems, especially during the summer droughts of that hot region, were resolved. Huge reservoirs were excavated inside the Rock, to store rainwater from catchment areas which had been especially prepared on the north-western and eastern sides of the Rock. These old catchments were, some years later, replaced by new technology to meet the growing demands of present-day Gibraltar and today, sea water is desalinated so the Rock is no longer dependent on unpredictable rainfalls.
First and Second World War, Falklands Campaign and Gulf War
The Rock play a crucial role in the First World War in the control of the Straits as an assembly point for convoys. As a reward for these invaluable services, a City Council was created in Gibraltar in 1921. This Council replaced the previous Sanitary Commissioners. who took responsibility for problems of health and water-supply. Spain stayed neutral during the First World War, and was not considered a danger to the security of the Rock fortress. By 1939, this neutrality had disappeared.
1939
In the autumn of this year, Britain was now at war with Hitler's Germany. Mussolini joined up with Hitler and, thereby, opened a new theatre of war in the Mediterranean. Gibraltar was now judged to be in great danger.
The strategic value of Gibraltar came into play again during this war and the Rock was a port of call for the Mediterranean and Home fleets. A runway was built and was used for the launch of Operation Torch - the allied landings of North Africa. Battered survivors of wartime convoys, scanned the horizon desperately, to seek out the comforting and friendly sight of the Rock looming large in the distance, knowing that a warm, friendly welcome awaited them on their arrival.
During the Second World War, approximately 16700 civilians, women, children and other non-combatants, on the Rock were evacuated to Britain, Jamaica and Madeira. It seemed that all the hard won political gains made in more than 230 years of British rule had been lost but the evacuated residents returned to their homes on Gibraltar again when the war was over. A group of civilians on the Rock had got together to demand a greater say in the running of the colony. This group formally launched themselves in December 1942 as the Association for the Advancement of Civil Rights in Gibraltar (AACR). Albert Risso was its first President and a young lawyer, who had written up the group's constitution, became its Vice President.
The Association helped bring in greater political reform after the war and in 1945 the City Council was reconstituted. Now, for the first time, the majority of members were elected against the previous nominated officials. Five years after this, the Duke of Edinburgh opened Gibraltar's Legislative Council, which, although it was not an elected majority, did contain a majority of members who were not officials of the crown.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, visited the Rock in 1954 while internal political reform continued at a greater pace. By the end of the 1950s, the Gibraltarians had a Legislative Council which now had a majority of elected members. To preside over their meetings, a Speaker replaced the Governor. 1n 1964 they now had a democratically elected Government of Gibraltar and Sir Joshua Hassan was the Rock's first Chief Minister.
1960s
In 1963 and 1964 The United Nations Special Committee on Decolonisation discussed the question of the Rock as this had now been placed on their agenda. Britain, Spain, and residents from Gibraltar put across their points but the committee took a line which favoured Spain. The Spanish Government seemed to take this to mean that they could impose a series of spiteful restrictions at her land frontier with Gibraltar. A referendum was held in 1967, at which the people of Gibraltar were asked whether they wanted to be handed over to Spain or stay British. More than 12,000 people voted to remain British, with only 44 voting to be handed over to Spain. Spain's border restrictions and bullying behaviour ended with the total closure of the border in 1969.
1969 was also the year when the Gibraltarians Constitution was brought into being and from this Constitution was created the Gibraltar House of Assembly. The Assembly is Gibraltar's Parliament and it has powers over a wide range of internal affairs. The Rock's autonomy has been strengthened over the years and the Gibraltarians identify themselves very strongly as British Gibraltarians and are demanding the right to self-determination in accordance with International Law.
1970s
Gibraltar was under siege. General Franco had cut off Gibraltar by land and sea. Telephone communications were removed and flying restrictions imposed on the Rock. The only air travel kept open were planes to London or journeys by sea to Morocco.
Gibraltar joined the EEC with Great Britain, on 1 January 1973. As the Rock is a European territory whose external affairs are the responsibility of the UK, some special arrangements were worked out. These mean that Gibraltar does not have to pay VAT, it doesn't belong to the Customs Union and is not a member of the much discredited Common Agricultural Policy of the EU.
Several attempts were made during the years when the frontier was closed, to lift these unjust restrictions. These were given a boost by the death of General Franco in 1975.
1980s
In 1980, an agreement was thrashed out in Lisbon, which stated that Britain and Spain were committed to resolve their differences over Gibraltar and, in return, Spain would lift the restrictions. However, that didn't happen and despite many promises to open the border, the Spanish kept the gates firmly shut.
In 1982, the strategic value of the Rock was again shown during the Falklands Campaign when Gibraltar became a stop-over for ships and troops and ships were refitted for the Campaign. Then, again later, during the Gulf War, the Rock was used for a similar purpose.
In 1982 the border was opened for pedestrians only, after the election of a socialist government in Madrid. The full opening did not come until 27 November 1984, and then only came after an agreement between the British and Spanish Foreign Ministers in Brussels where Britain agreed to put the sovereignty of Gibraltar up for discussion in exchange.
When Spain joined the European Community on 1 January, 1986, the Spanish began to use the EC to advance their claim for sovereignty of Gibraltar. To the shame of the European Community, in 1987 Spain managed to manipulate matters so that Gibraltar airport was excluded from a part of EC law on civil aviation, unless the Gibraltarians accepted joint control with Spain of their airport. Before this, Gibraltar had also become liable to pay pensions to the Spanish workers who had worked in Gibraltar before Franco closed down the border, even though they had not made any contributions to a Gibraltar pension during the 16 years when the frontier was closed. In December 1987, Sir Joshua Hassan retired as Chief Minister of Gibraltar, just a few days after the airport agreement.
In March 1988, elections were held and Mr. Joe Bossano, leader of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party was elected as Chief Minister. He was later to win the elections in January 1992, when he received a landslide election victory with 73% of the vote.
1990s
The saga, however, continued and in the summer of 1991, Spain was up to more
tricks and held up the signing of the External Frontiers Convention of the
EU. Their argument being that Gibraltar should not be included within the
frontiers of Europe. The British Government insisted that, of course, Gibraltar
must be included and, as far as I am aware, this defining of Europe's external
borders remains held up by Spain's argument.
2002
The UN Committee on Decolonisation is going to consider whether a reference to Gibraltar in the conclusions to their annual regional seminar in Fiji should be amended to the effect that the wishes of the people of Gibraltar need to be taken into account in resolving the Gibraltar dispute.
The present-day residents of the Rock are a friendly, bilingual people and their civilian identity is firmly established and consolidated. A number of things have contributed to this consolidation of the Gibraltarians. One was the closing of the frontier between Spain and Gibraltar by General Franco in 1967 for 16 years. This harassment so strengthened the unity of the residents that, by the time the border was re-opened, partially in 1982 and at last fully in 1985, their trials, at the hands of the Spanish, had created an extremely strong bond between them.
During the last decade or so, earlier projects have culminated in massive reclamation schemes which have changed Gibraltar physically. All the land below the defensive walls of the Rock has been reclaimed from the sea and projects are still ongoing in this vibrant, wonderful region.
Today, Gibraltar's Capital City is Gibraltar Town and the population of just over 30,000 inhabitants speak English and Spanish.
Gibraltar has been British since 1704 - almost 300 years and has been a truly loyal friend to Britain through good times and bad, peace and war.
Although in a militarily strategic part of the world and despite a great military past, Gibraltar's emphasis today, is on tourism, telecommunications and offshore finance. The legal tender in Gibraltar is Gibraltar Government notes and coinage, though UK notes and coins are equally welcome. Gibraltar Government notes and coins are on a par with Sterling. Most shops accept Euros and many U. S. Dollars.
British bobbies walk their beats on the Rock and even the electrical power and sockets are identical to those in the United Kingdom i.e. 220/240 AC 3 flat pin plugs.
Host to seven million visitors every year, the Rock is self-governing, politically stable, secure and economically prosperous. In fact, it is financially self-sufficient and costs the UK tax payer nothing. It is also part of the European Union, of course, and its successful international finance centre is regulated to United Kingdom and European Union standards. Disgracefully, despite having joined the EEC with Britain, implementing directives etc, the residents of Gibraltar are the only EU citizens who are are denied the ability to vote for the assembly.
Gibraltar is also a strategic British military base which, again, costs the UK taxpayer nothing, the biggest ship bunkering port in the Mediterranean and a strategic commercial ship repair facility.
Surely in this day and age, the citizens of Gibraltar should be considered mature enough to decide their own destiny. If that means that they wish to remain British, that should be the end of the matter.
However.......
Because Spain wants sovereignty over the rock, its Government has been making life very difficult on Gibraltar in many ways by their actions. The British Government, however, rather than robustly speaking up in support of Gibraltar (In the EU Court if necessary to prevent bullying and harassment of the Gibraltarians by Spain), appear to be meekly capitulating to Spain's aggressive tactics and are proposing to do a deal with Spain on the sovereignty of Gibraltar.
Gibraltar, the UK Government has said, will have the final say in a referendum and the sovereignty deal will not be "put into action" without the support of the people of Gibraltar in the referendum.. However, it appears that the issue of sovereignty will remain on the table whatever the referendum result, as the agreed position between the UK Government and the Spanish Government. This is regarded by the Gibraltarians as a sell-out. Any agreement entered into with Spain against the peoples' wishes is a clear breach of their right to self-determination and is, therefore, against international law. It also breaches a 30 year old constitutional commitment by the British Government. The people of Gibraltar firmly believe that no proposals, affecting them, and rejected by them in a referendum should remain on the negotiating table. Any proposal should be either accepted by the people of Gibraltar or rejected and, if it is rejected, that is the end of that proposal. Double speak and deals half-done in secret are a disgraceful betrayal of the people of the Rock.
The people of Gibraltar are not opposed to reasonable talks with Spain but they want it to be an open agenda (i.e., not predetermined to result in Spanish Sovereignty).
Message of Support from England, for the People of Gibraltar
To none will we sell, to none will we deny, to none will we delay right or justice.
Magna Carta, Great Charter of King John, Runnymede - 15th June 1215
Pet Portraits of Dogs, Cats & Animals in oils on canvas or watercolours
by Isabel Clark Paintings Make Very Special Gifts or Cards
Contact Name and Address:-
Isabel Clark - Proprietor, 24 Goodman Way, Tile Hill Village, Coventry CV4 9UF England - Tel: 024 76462885
|
Have you ever been bored by the usual Greeting cards? Then click on the following link and order a unique one created by Isabel Clark Bespoke Greeting Cards, stationery & Prints are also available on the above website |
| Paintings of Horses and Ponies | Paintings of People | Pencil Study Portraits |
| Frequently Asked Questions | The Artist's Pets | GIFT VOUCHERS |
I just need a CLEAR photo of your pet dogs, cats, ponies, horses, birds or any other pet animals, persons or places,
to create a unique and special gift.
If you do not have any clear, close up photos of your pet, take some NOW.
If your pet has sadly died and it is too late to take any clear photos I will willingly look at your photo and let you know if it is clear enough. I love my pet portrait work, but one of the saddest aspects is where an old pet has died and the owner has no clear photo to remember their friend by, or, indeed, to create a pet portrait memorial to their lost one. So take those pictures now, even if you do not yet decide on a painting of your pet.
The happiest aspect of my work is when my client has received their pet portrait and telephone or write to let me know how delighted they are in spite of the tears over their lost friend. I have so many lovely letters telling me how the portrait of their pet is now taking pride of place in their home, and how they feel their pet's spirit is still with them whenever they gaze at the painting. So do not hesitate. Order your pet portrait painting today. You will be so glad you did.
Children or any person or pet can be painted into the scene, even if they were not in that particular photo. Many things are possible. If you have a special request, just ask. If it is possible it can be done.
So, if you have no CLEAR photos, get clicking and send your favourite photo to me for that dog painting, cat painting, animal painting, or landscape painting. You will be delighted with the result.
Pet dogs, cats, animals or any child or adult can be painted into the scene, even if they were not in that particular photo. Many things are possible. If you have a special request, just ask. If it is possible it can be done.
We should all value our historical houses be they palaces, farmhouses or cottages, they are our links to our past, but sadly, many are being allowed to deteriorate beyond any repair. It would be a poorer world with no physical reminders of our ancestors presence. Whenever, I get the opportunity I am out painting and capturing little corners of this England onto canvas or watercolour paper.
We should have much tougher laws against the pollution of our rivers and fields, and stricter laws to protect pressured animals and green spaces.
Imagine a world with only one creature, the human being. What a dreadful place that would be. We must all do our best to alleviate some of the harm man has done to this world and its animal inhabitants. One way is to enforce planning controls for new human dwellings, office blocks and factories that are sympathetic to the natural environment.
The welfare of this Earth's wild creatures is something I feel very passionately about. We have done so much harm to these fellow residents of our planet, who, of course, have as much right to exist as humanity. Wild animals, including the smallest insect have no less right to live out their natural lifespan as ourselves.
We should not attempt to turn all their wild habitats into pretty parks for just our enjoyment. Nature is wild and beautiful in its wildness. Wild animals need to be wild and free and people can find enjoyment in this too.
We cannot turn this, still beautiful, Earth into a controlled, barren environment for the convenience of just one of this world's creatures, ourselves. We can help these animals in many ways, such as not mowing every piece of wild meadow near our towns. No voles, hawks or butterflies can exist on a lawn. These animals need the shelter of tall grasses to hide in and to feed from. Where there are no hiding places, there are no wild creatures. Where the grass is mown no wild flowers can flourish. However, with a little goodwill on our part it is amazing how quickly Mother Nature heals her wounds.
Remember the warm days of summer as, during the cold days of winter, you gaze at your painting of your sunny garden and home.
If you want a really unusual and special gift for a pet or animal lover for Christmas, Birthdays, Thanksgiving, Easter, Anniversaries, Retirements, Presentations or any other celebration, a portrait of a beloved pet is always a unique and very welcome gift. Whether it is a dog painting, cat painting, horse painting, wild animal painting, bird painting, child or adult human painting or a painting of someone's home and garden, it will bring delight and surprise to the recipient.
Pet Portraits of Dogs, Cats, Animals, Wildlife, People, Landscape Paintings & Greeting Cards created from Your Own Photos
Death is the liberator of him whom freedom cannot release,
the physician of him whom medicine cannot cure,
and the comforter of him whom time cannot console.
- Charles Caleb Colton -
All images on this website are the copyright of Isabel Clark BA (Honours) Fine Art - All Rights Reserved