The Big Catch — bronze sculpture

A small, sturdy figure stands on a heavy block, arms wrapped around an enormous fish — a catch almost bigger than himself. The proportions are deliberately exaggerated and full of humour: the man is barely visible behind his prize, proud and slightly overwhelmed at the same time. The form is simplified, close to primitivist, reduced to the essence of the gesture. The sculpture is handmade: cast in bronze using the lost-wax technique, then hand-worked and hand-patinated.

This is handcrafted work with a strongly tactile surface — the marks of modelling, the roughness and the irregularities have all been deliberately kept, so the surface comes alive in changing light and the warm golden-brown patina settles a little differently on every casting. The piece stands on its own compact block, so it needs no additional base and displays easily on a desk, shelf, windowsill or sideboard. Its small format makes it a well-judged gift for an angler, a lover of the sea, or a collector of small figurative sculpture — a work with character and a sense of humour.