Denys Ovenden
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Denys Ovenden (1 April 1922 – 26 November 2019) was a
Biography
Ovenden's preoccupation with drawing began very early, probably around the age of three, since there are drawings on the fly-leaves of books from that period. His natural history interest began around the age of six.
He began his studies at
In 1961 Ovenden went to work on the part-work Understanding Science, where he met Michael Chinery, who became a friend. With Chinery he began a new phase of work for William Collins, first on Field Guide to the Insects of Britain & Northern Europe,[2] then the ground-breaking Reptiles & Amphibians of Britain & Europe.[3] This was followed by a number of other books for Collins, including entry-level hand guides to Wild Animals and The Sea Coast.
In 1987 he prepared 10 plates for the
Ovenden used a body-live, pinned, or preserved specimen to work from. He also used photographs, although these vary greatly in terms of colour bias. He used textbook or specialist handbooks to confirm details of mouth parts, wing venation, and other identification features.
Ovenden died in November 2019 at the age of 97.[8]
An illustration of Ifield Water Mill in West Sussex was painted by Ovenden in 2015 and shows a scene from 1848 when the railway between Crawley and Horsham crossed the millpond on a wooden trellis viaduct.[9] The painting subsequently appeared on a limited edition Royal Mail postage stamp.
References
- ^ Sutton, P.G. (2020). "Obituary - Denys Ovenden: 1st April 1922 – 26th November 2019". British Wildlife. 31 (3): 230.
- ^ Michael Chinery, Collins, 1973
- ^ Nicholas Arnold and Denys Ovenden, Collins, 7 October 2002
- ^ Harley Books, Judith Marshall and Chris Haes, 30 September 1990
- ^ Malcolm Greenhalgh, Denys Ovenden, Collins, 5 March 2007
- ^ Professor Stefan Buczacki, Collins 12.05/10
- ^ Nigel Sitwell, Wilmot Books, 31 September 2011
- ^ Tribute to Denys Ovenden, 1922–2019
- ^ "Painting a picture of the history of Ifield Mill". 28 January 2016.