How I Started Making My Whale Prints

Sperm whale screen print onto perspective indicator paper

When I first moved to the Northumberland coast I heard that a sperm whale had become stranded and died on a nearby beach. I decided to head out to draw. It was an eerie and moving sight, a small crowd had gathered in silence and I drew as scientists took samples for research.

A few months later I came across a well-worn vintage sheet of Perspective Indicator paper in a junk shop. This large sheet of graph paper with its turquoise criss-crossing lines gave the impression of underwater sonar.

The experience with the sperm whale had stuck with me so I had the idea of printing an image of a large sperm whale onto the vintage paper. 

Detail of vintage map of hopen banken with number details scattered all over

From there, I developed it further into a series of whale prints onto old sea charts. The charts, like the Perspective Indicator paper, are well used sheets of vintage paper - often they have hand drawn marks made by navigators at sea, plotting their route or indicating a wreck, adding to the unique qualities of the charts.

Spread from Gerry Turley's sketchbookzine of whale watching in iceland

We then decided to travel as a family, sketchbooks in hand, to Húsavik in north east Iceland to draw live humpback whales in Skjálfandi Bay, spotting so many whales lunge feeding and diving all around us, including a mother with her not-yet-fully-bouyant calf. This trip inspired a series of humpback whale prints.

How To Buy A Whale Print?

I make my screen prints in small batches and sell them in online private views in my shop.

They are a series of Unique Prints onto vintage sea charts usually featuring
whales and the sea creatures they encounter. 

The prints normally sell out within the first day, so to avoid disappointment sign up to my newsletter here to get a heads up on the next batch.

How To Frame Them?

Personally, I prefer to keep it simple - frame right to the edge of the print or use a float mount with a narrow gap (an inch or two). I often choose a plain wooden or warm grey frame and I like the frame to be a deeper, box type frame. 

Two framed whale prints hung on the wall one above the other. The sperm whale is at the top and the humpback whale is underneath.
polar bear printed onto a vintage map then framed and hung on a wall
detail of the corner of a wooden picture frame showing vintage map detail

I love to see photos of your whale prints in situ ~ please do email them to me

Testimonials

  • ‘We just had the whale print back from the framer and it looks fab! We managed to find a good match for the colour I think. It looks great and we are delighted. Looking forward to having Christmas dinner in front of it!’

    ~ Chris ~

  • ‘Thank you very much. We received our ‘Fair Isle to Wick’ Whale print yesterday. Beautifully packaged & all in good order. We are thrilled with it & hope to get the print framed soon.’

    ~ Holly ~

  • ‘Four times this summer we’ve seen Orca whales right out here in Puget Sound. Two of those times we encountered two juvenile humpbacks. One time...a double breech! Needless to say, whales and the ocean are a part of our family fabric. My kids have so much love and respect for nature and the ocean. Going out and seeing them has been the greatest gift since moving to the Pacific Northwest. The NY chart with the humpback whale is the perfect gift I can give my family. Thank you. I feel very lucky to be able to own one of these prints.’

    ~ Courtney ~

  • ‘When I took the whale print into the framers the other day both staff and other customers came over to comment on how brilliant it was - I basked in the reflected glory! But rightfully I pass the glory on to you. Many thanks.'

    ~ Hilary ~

  • ‘We were on the far west coast of Canada, in the magical islands of Haida Gwaii. We had been kayaking along the coast and the whale had been moving parallel to us for some time. We entered a cove for some lunch when up he popped VERY close to the boats for a lovely breach. We got a real sense of how enormous he was, with a good view of his barnacles and underbelly. Unforgettable. Thank you so much for creating this work Gerry.’

    ~ Joss ~