"Buy a crab sir?"
The lady in this picture is my great, great, grandmother. She was a fishmonger in Whitby and was photographed several times by the Victorian photographer Frank Medow Sutcliffe.
While researching my family history I found out she was Hannah Gildroy, born in Pickering, North Yorkshire in 1862. She married in 1879 to a Joseph Hall, she was widowed in 1899 and went on to marry again to Timothy Ward.
She is depicted here offering a crab for sale as part of an article for a local newspaper. I have many old photographs of my family which make great studies for this type of art.
This picture has been created using a standard biro pen. Biro pen can be used to create amazing detailed sketches. Invented in the fifties the humble biro hasn't been around too long, so it is not a well used medium for art but sketches mounted in dark colours look perfect wherever they are hung.
The first time I saw biro art blew me away. I found the website of James Mylne a talented artist who has exhibited his work in London. Find out more about James and his amazing work from the link below.
©susan goodall 2009.
