Large-format sanguine drawing · 2025–2026

Pro·test

Bernadette “Berd” Blanchard

There is a lineage from the cave painters of Lascaux to the drawings I make now. Those artists documented the animals they revered. I document the animals we are destroying.

I draw in sanguine and Conté, about as traditional as drawing materials get, and I use them for things they were never meant for: species extinction, ecological collapse, thawing ice, logged land.

The work is unpeopled. No human figure appears, but the consequence is everywhere in the setting — a field of skulls, a corridor of horns, the void. The subject stands alone and carries the whole loss.

Classical technique, unconventional application.

The Last Ice — An iceberg coming apart, dropping into the void.
A

The Last Ice

An iceberg coming apart, dropping into the void.

Medium
Sanguine Conté on Fabriano Artistico 640gsm
Size
56 × 76 cm
Research & process →
The Last Passage — A rhino at the end of a corridor of its own horns.
B

The Last Passage

A rhino at the end of a corridor of its own horns.

Medium
Sanguine Conté on Fabriano Artistico 640gsm
Size
56 × 76 cm
Research & process →
The Last Stand — A lone bison on a field of skulls.
C

The Last Stand

A lone bison on a field of skulls.

Medium
Sanguine Conté on Fabriano Artistico 640gsm
Size
56 × 76 cm
Research & process →
The Last Run — Salmon being fished out of the world, two small figures below.
D

The Last Run

Salmon being fished out of the world, two small figures below.

Medium
Sanguine Conté and Charcoal on Arches 300gsm
Size
56 × 76 cm
Research & process →
The Last Breath — A logged landscape, the ground opened and red.
E

The Last Breath

A logged landscape, the ground opened and red.

Medium
Sanguine Conté, Charcoal and Pastel on cradled wood panel
Size
100 × 70 cm
Research & process →
The Last Tree — The last of the forest, turning cold and blue.
F

The Last Tree

The last of the forest, turning cold and blue.

Medium
Sanguine Conté, Charcoal and Pastel on cradled wood panel
Size
30 × 40 cm
Research & process →
Self portrait of Berd Blanchard

Protest is not always loud. Sometimes it is slow, careful, and drawn in sanguine.

Visual artist working across drawing, mixed media, and found materials. My practice is rooted in eco-surrealism and protest: I use the language of beauty to seduce and yet confront the viewer with environmental destruction, species loss, and the quiet violence of human systems. The full research, position and process behind this series lives in the pages above.