Fox:

Hello! I'm Merlyn - you may know me better as my artistic pseudonym, Fox - an AuDHD and LGBTQ+ artist based in the North West of England, and the brains behind Fox & Fiver.

I've been drawing animals for as long as I can remember, taking inspiration from the wildlife spotted in my home village, holidays and hikes in the countryside (the Lake District being one of my favourite destinations), my passion for animal welfare, and the species I have yet to spot but still love learning about regardless. I love illustrating animals of all kinds but my main artistic niche revolves around animal rights and activism; over the years, I’ve illustrated an array of animal rights themed designs, posted them all online, and had them printed in the form of sellable products (button badges being the most popular) with the aim of spreading awareness and educating others. Some examples of these animal rights issues include: the brutal cruelty of fox hunting and hare coursing, the unnecessary wildlife tragedy that is the badger cull, and the dangerous and greed-fuelled commercial greyhound and horse racing industries, amongst plenty of others.

I'm equally as passionate about the hobbies and interests I enjoy in my free time - reading, writing, music, wildlife photography, and gaming. My favourite books, video games, films, TV shows, and even songs all influence my artistic ideas, and I often create “fan-art” revolving around them. Sometimes my creativity is simply inspired by them, influencing my artistic style in both my art and writing work. While I mostly sell animal rights related art, I often have fan-art for sale too, so if you’re interested please feel free to take a look!

Some people have asked me where the name “Fox” comes from - not only am I a big fan of alliteration (hence Fox & Fiver), I also adore red foxes and consider them to be my favourite animal… although admittedly, I adore A LOT of animals so picking a favourite is quite tricky. In addition, I feel somewhat connected to red foxes; they’re a frequently misunderstood animal, often labelled as “pests” for just trying to survive as efficiently as possible, secretive and shy with those they don’t know but playful and affectionate with those they trust… If I were to picture myself as an animal, it would be a red fox. In fact, due to my lack of confidence in illustrating humans, I have actually drawn myself as an anthropomorphic fox - take a look at the short comic illustration below!

Developing my artistic niche has led to some incredible opportunities - having stalls at a variety of vegan fairs and meeting some wonderful likeminded people, being some examples. The opportunity which I’m most proud of is being invited to display and sell my artwork at Vegan Camp Out’s first ever art gallery back in 2024! VCO is the world’s largest vegan camping festival so I was over the moon to showcase my work at the event! The highlight of the weekend was meeting Chris Packham and talking to him about my art - I even gave him a fox pin which I’d illustrated! Take a look at the photos below to see my artwork displayed in the VCO art gallery!

Fiver:

I may be the brains, but the heart behind the art is my rescue greyhound, Fiver, who’s named after one of the characters in my favourite and most beloved book, “Watership Down”. The character version of “Fiver” is a timid rabbit, small in size, and often has visions - usually warnings - of the near future. Fiver the greyhound lives up to his namesake; he’s rather shy and much smaller compared to the average greyhound (he even gets mistaken as a whippet on a regular basis). Despite being on the reserved side, he has come a long way in terms of his confidence, blossoming into a wonderfully cheeky companion!

Rescuing a greyhound has added even more motivation and meaning to my passion for animal rights; knowing not all greyhounds come out of the racing industry in as fortunate a situation as Fiver makes me feel even more driven and determined to advocate for the rights of those who can’t speak for themselves - not only greyhounds, but all animals. 

We’re still a long way from a world which truly views animals as being here with us - not for us - but your support of my work keeps me motivated to continue doing what I’m passionate about and for that, I’m incredibly grateful.

Here’s a photo of Fiver, taken when we visited Ravenglass at the most wonderful golden hour: