Last week I demonstrated pastel drawing to the Austrey WI.
Their village is situated very close to Twycross Zoo, so I decided to draw one of the resident primates - a splendid male Bornean Orangutan, which I saw last Autumn on a day at the Zoo.

This beautiful species is critically endangered in the wild, due to habitat loss and poaching.
They were in a family group, together with females and young, and I was struck by the male's powerful frame but gentle gaze, and I made my drawing a portrait, to emphasise his character and the colours of the fur.

The ladies of the WI were very lively and appreciative, asking lots of relevant questions about my work and techniques, and I think they enjoyed the results.