Sunday Reading

My husband and I are in the midst of house hunting, and while finding the right house can be a bit tricky and time consuming, one benefit of all this driving around the countryside is finding wonderful little bookstores and charity shops full of natural history treasures. If I can find an old book with illustrations of birds or woodland creatures I consider it a successful outing.

Over the weekend I found this little gem about the trials and tribulations of John James Audubon and his struggle to get his beautiful paintings of birds published. He's a bit of a romantic and controversial subject (he shot many birds in order to study them for his work) and though I am very familiar with his art, I don't know much about the man himself.  I look forward to learning more about the stories behind some of the most well known images of birds.

Birds and Blooms

A design I created for the Birds-And-Blooms group on Deviantart.com. They are having a contest for a new icon for the group and I thought I'd toss my hat in the ring. Mostly I was looking for excuses to draw more birds and flowers. Any excuse right?

Stolen Rose

 

An illustration of an old English folktale about why owls are nocturnal. The owl stole a rose, which was meant to be a prize awarded for beauty, and as punishment was banished by the other birds to only venture out at night.

Acrylic
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I finally had a chance to finish this painting that I've been working on for a while. I've been visiting family in the states and it's been quite hectic, but good to see everyone. Have a few more people to see before I head back to the UK.

Starling Pegasus

Starling pegasus illustration.

Springtime Treasures

 

A spring inspired little illustration and some treasures picked up on a recent trip to Dover.

Sneak Peek!

A new painting I've been working on lately. It's been a while since I have worked digitally so it's been nice to get back into the swing of it.

Snow Moon

I've unintentionally been using a dark purple/red palette all this month ( I like to think of it as raspberry jam) so I thought I would continue to do so for this latest piece. Apparently when a full moon occurs in the month of February it is called a snow moon. So here is a little glimpse of it.

Blackberry Badger

A new piece I have just finished. The badger seems to be a very beloved animal here in England and I must say that I too am falling under its spell. They are lovely, shy creatures and all these goings-on about the cull are really upsetting. Poor badgers!

Yellow Butterflies and Old Wive's Tales

 

I had a hankering recently to do a more detailed painting with lots of background. There's something truly wonderful about being surrounded by nature, something magical about being immersed in a sea of gently blowing flowers and grasses. A little world, all your own for just a little while, where you can remain undisturbed, hidden by a tangle of vines with a friendly group of butterflies fluttering softly around you.

The scan of this pic is only so so. It's a larger piece and had to be scanned in sections. I'll have to give it another go before I'm truly satisfied with it, but for now I just wanted to share it.

I thought I would also take this opportunity to share what I've been reading this week. I found this lovely little book full of old fashioned information. It's filled with all sorts of folklore, natural remedies, helpful tips and interesting trivia. I absolutely love this sort of thing so I couldn't resist it...it also helps that I love the cover design!

As an extra little treat I chose ginger chamomile tea and a cute little apple pie to accompany my reading. Yummy!

In Bloom

 Some little bunches of flowers for a client project.

 A new drawing.

Foxy

A new painting for my book project that I'm currently working on. I can't resist making whimsical woodland critters.