THE NEW NAUTICAL

Watching the boats sail through Torquay harbour on the South Devon coast, with gulls taking off and ever-changing cloud formations above, Bert Fowler begins his day in his second- floor studio. With the light flooding in from a floor-to-ceiling window, his studio is a place of calm and inspiration, with a 1950s drawing board and ideas chalkboard at its heart. Pen and paper in front of him, he sketches a new oystercatcher design inspired by the seabirds he spotted a few miles away at Slapton.

‘I consider how a bird breaks down into its most simple form – long legs, a dark body and a strong red-orange beak – and create clean block lines that look quite mathematical,’ Bert explains. ‘My drawing board allows me to scribble and make mistakes on paper without