The Good Staff  is a glimpse into the hidden world beneath the hedgerow, a world where woodland creatures adopt human habits, ambitions and eccentricities with wonderfully comic results. Perched triumphantly atop a towering compost heap, Walker’s central badger-like figure stands guard over a chaotic mound of discarded treasures, scraps and garden debris, clutching a long-handled spade like a hard-earned sceptre of authority. Dressed in layered rural clothing - headscarf, apron, heavy coat and worn boots - the character feels instantly recognisable as a seasoned allotment keeper or countryside forager, proudly surveying what she clearly considers valuable riches. Around the heap, Walker scatters an assortment of tiny details: curious mice peering from below, broken fence posts, rotting vegetables and tangled organic matter, all rendered with loose brushwork that gives the composition movement and spontaneity.

Jonathan Walker, now based in Devon, is celebrated for creating richly imagined countryside narratives populated by foxes, hares, badgers and moles dressed in cast-off human garments and behaviours. Deeply influenced by the surrounding landscape, his work combines fine draughtsmanship with loose expressive watercolour, balancing satire and affection in equal measure.