Almanac: The story of a year

This is the story of a year. In March 2021 I started creating my own almanac. The weather reports are always a little hit-and-miss where we live. Predicted storms often swirl around below the hill and fail to touch us. Late frosts often do not happen, as sheltered as our little garden is. I wanted…

Art Journal: The Peony Collection, a little shed and a magical cat

Completing my collection of three hyper-realistic flowers, drawn between January and May 2021, is the delicate pink peony. The photographic reference was kindly given to me by my lovely friend Sally who has the most beautiful garden full of flowers. She has been so supportive all the way through the creation of this artwork; a…

Art Journal: Peony petals, the first flowers of spring and a teapot

Welcome to my art journal, where I write about my drawings and how my little garden, the fields and woodlands close to my home and the seasons influence my art practice. My screen this week has been filled with the blossoming petals of a peony. I try to concentrate on the clouds of colour, working…

Art Journal: The Kate Dahlia

Welcome to my art journal, where I write about my drawings and how my little garden, the fields and woodlands close to my home and the seasons influence my art practice. My art time in March was spent immersed in the intensive drawing of a Cafe au Lait Dahlia. My friend Kate very kindly gave…

Art Journal: The Audrey Rose

The Audrey Rose Collection is inspired by and named after my lovely friend Audrey. She was kind enough to give me permission to use a photograph of her favourite David Austin rose as a reference for my work. Audrey is the founder of the weekly #FlowersOnFriday Twitter event.  Gardeners from around the world share photos…

Almanac: Autumn memories and a distraction of flowers

We have already passed midwinter and yet I have so many memories of autumn that I want to preserve. September, October and November brought with them a time of intense creativity as I worked on my illustrations, commissions and the launching of my little art shop. I kept taking my daily photographs, though it is…

A Week in Books: Star gazing, poetry and Advent begins

On a Sunday evening, I like to clear the shelf next to my desk, in preparation for the week ahead. There will always be a pile of books that have accumulated beside me. These will include stories my daughter has brought over for me to read to her and those that I have quickly grabbed…

Art Journal: The Creation of Mister Meadowson

Whilst I was working on my winter collection for the little art shop I had a request from a young girl in the United States for a tiny fox with glasses to be included somewhere in one of my illustrations. She wears glasses herself and thought it would be nice to have a character to…