A substantial masterwork in watercolour at an unusually challenging size of nearly 4 square feet, this is a signature piece by Derek in his “Poetic Narrative” style and the sharp-eyed will note that it includes low-relief collage embedded and painted into the work. These are flotsam from the shores of the various oceans he has visited in his travels. It is part of his long-running series entitled “Testaments of Loss” which documents human impact and his own personal observations of environmental change that he has witnessed and sketched as an artist over 40 years. Orcas are apex predators that hunt all the oceans of the world and are recognised as environmental indicators of the health of these ecosystems. The painting combines the subjects of plastics and chemical pollution, sonar noise, overfishing and the myriad fingerprints of human agency that touch the furthest and wildest corners of the planet. Derek was inspired by sketches he made of Orcas of the Scottish Coast, the Arctic and the Mediterranean Seas. The previous summer he spent a week on a Scottish island where pods of orcas swam around the shore and leapt in the sea. The painting won the Environmental Artivism Award at the David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of The Year Exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London 2025 and was reviewed in the BBC Wildlife Magazine. See below.

 

Fife Wildlife Artist Derek Robertson Wins Prestigious Environmental Award

Acclaimed wildlife artist Derek Robertson, from Balmerino, North East Fife, has won the Environmental Artivism Award at the world-renowned David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year exhibition in London.

His striking painting, In The Compass of the Oceans, earned top honours for its powerful and haunting portrayal of an orca family – set within the beauty of the ocean ecosystem but surrounded by the debris of human impact. Judges described the work as “not just a reflection of the world, but a call to reshape it.”

The Environmental Artivism Award celebrates art that tackles urgent issues such as climate breakdown and human pressures on wildlife, challenging audiences to confront uncomfortable truths and imagine a better future. Robertson’s painting was praised for sparking the kind of honest conversations that can inspire real action.

This win is a career milestone for Robertson, who has been highly commended at the exhibition on five previous occasions. His work is held in collections in more than 50 countries, including the Tate Gallery, the Scotland Office, and even the royal family. He is also the author of several books, has presented on television, and has won numerous international awards.