Nevermore

Description

A Crow in Tokyo

I photographed this bird in Ueno Park, Tokyo. He was standing on top of a stone monument, not remotely interested in the people passing by. I walked up to within a few feet of him and he just looked back defiantly. I got a good series of shots before he eventually moved on.

The bird is a large-billed crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), one of two crow species common across urban Japan. They’re bigger than the carrion crows we get in Sheffield, with a heavier, more arched bill. In Tokyo they’re completely at home around people — bold, adaptable, and very hard to ignore.

The painting is called Nevermore, which is a nod to Poe. Strictly speaking it’s a crow rather than a raven, but in all honesty I had to look that up to be sure!

The Painting

I painted this back in my Sheffield studio from the reference photos. I used an 8×10″ Ampersand Gessobord panel, which is larger than I usually work — most of my paintings are 6×6″ or 8×8″. The extra size felt appropriate for this subject.

Dark plumage is interesting to work with. There’s a lot of colour in the blacks depending on how the light hits, and getting that right was one of the more enjoyable parts of this piece.

Framed or Unframed

Choose the framed option and it arrives ready to hang. The frame is natural ayous, a pale, lightweight hardwood, with a 7mm face and 21mm depth. The panel sits inside it with a 5mm gap all round, so the painted edge of the panel stays visible and the picture appears to float inside the frame rather than sitting against it. A flush mount is already fitted to the back for hanging.

If you would rather choose your own frame, you can buy it unframed. For advice please refer to How to Frame a Painting on a Panel.

Original Artwork Details

Specifications:

• Medium: Oil on gessobord panel
• Size: 8 × 10 inches (~ 20 × 25 cm)
• Depth: 0.3 cm (~ 1/8 inch)
• Available framed or unframed
• Framed size: approximately 22.7 × 27.8 cm (~ 9 × 11 inches)
• Frame: natural ayous, 7mm face, 21mm depth, 5mm float gap, flush mount fitted
• Year: 2025
• Signed on reverse

Shipping & Care

Your painting will be carefully packaged with protective materials and shipped via Royal Mail within 3–5 business days. Oil paintings on panel are robust and archival – kept away from direct sunlight and extreme humidity, they’ll last for centuries.