11 March 2018
Merrick's artwork (below) appeared in a 1987 calendar Literary Owls (left) celebrating a decade of Boobook Publications. The calendar pays homage to the owl which “writers have often use to dramatise a night scene, or to enhance the unholy actions of a night prowler.”
Merrick spends a lot of time in the bush and his paintings reflect his love of the landscape. The sooty owl is a striking member of the barn owl species and lies in dense forests. It is considered rare, but obviously not in the Fry garden.
Sooty owls of the night,
Please don’t give my Jake
a fright.
Merrick Fry