AN AMATEUR artist has paid tribute to Her Majesty in a unique way.
Robb Banks, 53, was walking on Shoreham beach on Saturday when he came across a piece of cuttlefish.
He decided to put his artistic talent to good use and carve the profile of the Queen into the shell using just a seagull feather.
Robb said he thought “everyone has a mini portrait of the Queen in their pocket” and used a 10p piece as a reference for the artwork.
He said: “I live on the beach practically and spend a lot of time there, there’s alway cuttlefish there.
“I’ve done a similar carving before, I carved the Royal Pavilion into one a while back.
“On Saturday, I picked one up and was obviously thinking about the Queen, as everyone is, I just thought, everyone has a mini portrait of the Queen in their pocket.
“So, I took out a ten pence coin and carved the image into it.
“I used a seagull feather, the shell is remarkably soft and easy to scratch.
“It only took about ten minutes.”
After he had finished his carving, Robb began to photograph his creation and later realised that he had photographed a beautiful purple sunset as well.
“I just thought wow, because obviously it’s the Platinum Jubilee colour and it seemed very fitting,” he added.
Robb first got the idea to embark on cuttlefish carving when he was shown a market stall in France that sold the shells.
The father of three said: “I thought ‘oh I never knew you could do that’ and I had a go, this was years ago.
“It was quite interesting to carve. If you brush the excess scraping off it gives it some extra detail. I just used the seagull feather. They last really well if you keep them inside, the Pavilion one still looks great.”
Robb works for a company that does interiors and specialises in window treatments, enabling him to design some for clients.
He trained at art college and creates paintings and sculptures in his spare time, as well as photography.
Much to his wife’s annoyance, Robb has never sold a piece but is frequently told he should.
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