Current Art
‘Breath of Silence’
Watercolour painting of Barn Owl on 300gsm 100% cotton watercolour.
Size of painted area: 36×46cm (14×18”)
Barn Owls are the most beautiful ghostly presence as they weave lightly around the meadows at dusk. Their silent ease on soft powerful wings as they quarter the fields is always a treat to see - a sight that makes the heart leap.
Thanks to @carol.boroughs for the use of the beautiful photo that inspired this piece.
Available framed in white solid wood St Ives frame.
Framed size: 61cm wide ×51cm high x 3cm depth
‘Falling into Silence’
Watercolour painting of Tawny Owl on 300gsm 100% cotton watercolour.
Painted area: 61×51cm (18×14”)
Appearing from the deep blue of the evening sky, a tawny owl drops to the ground silently.
Exploring the valley where I live at dusk is a different experience and I have been fortunate to observe our local tawny owl - from a distance - several times this year. That utter softness and stealth! Seeing it resting in stillness, or flying silently, I feel it as an absence - a velvet blackness that seems to absorb all surrounding sound. A secret presence. It is as if we have to wake up a part of ourselves to be able to see and meet it.
Available unframed or framed in white solid wood frame.
Birds of Prey
‘Windhover IV’
Watercolour painting of Kestrel on 300gsm 100% cotton watercolour.
9×12”
Catching the moment, hovering in the air - the beautiful burnished kestrel quivers in the sky, both part of it and distinct from it. A moment of mystery.
SOLD - please enquire if you are interested in a painting of a Kestrel
Framed in white solid wood St Ives frame.
‘Dance of the Avocets’
Watercolour painting of avocets in flight on 300gsm 100% cotton watercolour.
Size of painted area: 46×36 cm (18×14”)
To see avocets in flight is to see poetry in motion. These are beautiful, delicate wading birds. Once extinct in the UK, they are now beginning to flourish once more. Avocets have striking black markings on their wings and head, contrasting with their otherwise snow white bodies. They have a slender, upward curving beak and long pale blue legs. In flight, all of these elements come together to create one of the most elegant sights in the bird world.
Following the progress of these lovely birds through the mating season is always a delight. This painting was inspired by seeing avocets swooping through the evening light on the salt marsh reserve where they spend the summer.
Available framed in white solid wood St Ives frame.
Framed size: 61cm wide × 51cm high x 3cm deep.
Water & Wading Birds
‘Dance of the Godwits’
Watercolour painting of Black-Tailed Godwits on 300gsm 100% cotton watercolour.
Size of painted area: 31×23 cm (9×12”)
This year we have been fortunate to see a large flock of black-tailed godwits at our local wetland nature reserve. In their mating plumage - the rich rust and silver tones of pine tree bark - these are striking birds. Like all waders, seeing them fly, preen, ‘dance’ and feed is fascinating - their elegant long beaks and legs, and their beautifully marked wings cause endless permutations of colour and light as they move. A delight for any wildlife artist!
This delicate painting of two godwits brings to life their dancing movements.
Available framed in dark blue-grey solid wood St Ives frame (to order - expected time 3 weeks).
’Nesting Grebe’
Watercolour painting of Great Crested Grebe on 300gsm 100% cotton watercolour.
Size of painted area: 31×23 cm (9×12”)
Great Crested Grebes have the most wonderful and tender courtship rituals, and we have been lucky enough to witness these on more than one occasion at our local RSPB reserve.
In a gentle rhythm, they bow their heads forward, stretch their necks back, dip them to the side, stretch their necks tall, and all of this whilst attuning to and synchronising with their partner.
They also have a comical, but very beautiful, ritual where they adorn themselves with emerald green pond weed. They dive down into the depths of the water and re-emerge with the glistening weed draped over their heads - looking for all the world like they are wearing some resplendent headdress.
Available unframed or framed in white solid wood St Ives frame (to order - expected framing time 3 weeks).
Small Birds
’Sky Dancers’
Watercolour painting of Swallows on 300gsm 100% cotton watercolour.
Size of painted area: 41×41 cm (16×16”)
Framed size: 54×54cm
It is our summer visitors - swallows, house martins and swifts - who fill our sky with their aerial displays. In the winter, when they are gone, the skies are much quieter.
This painting is a celebration of the sky dancing swallows filling the air with their sound and their flight on a summer’s day.
Framed in white solid wood St Ives frame.
‘Dipper’
Watercolour painting of Dipper on 300gsm 100% cotton watercolour.
Size of painted area: 20×20 cm (8×8”)
A flash of white, a streak of movement, and the dipper is gone, moving swiftly through the river, until it emerges again on a nearby rock. Here, it stands, dipping its body in that characteristic way, a lovely rounded bird with a rich brown body and white breast.
I never tire of watching dippers on our local rivers and streams, or cease to be amazed by how often they seem to flit past without anyone else seeing them. Training oneself to see these hidden gems is part of the wonder of the natural world - it is here for us if we have eyes to see.
SOLD
Framed size: 31cm x 31cm
‘Courtship’
Watercolour painting of two Nuthatches on 300gsm 100% cotton watercolour.
Size of painted area: 41×41 cm (16×16”)
Framed size: 54×54cm
The dance of courtship. Watching and listening to nuthatches in spring is a true joy! They have the most beautiful musical call at this time of year and they can sometimes be seen move up and down the trees and fluttering in front of each other as they begin their courtship.
Framed in white solid wood St Ives frame.
Mammals
’Two Badgers In A Wood’
Watercolour painting of Badgers on 300gsm 100% cotton watercolour.
Size of painted area: 61×51xm (18×14”)
I have been getting inspired by the many wonderful photos on the internet this spring of badgers emerging from woods, and felt compelled to paint these beautiful creatures again.
Many years ago, my husband and I lived in a quiet lake district valley where we could regularly watch the local badgers. It’s not something to undertake lightly - it involves the ability to spend long periods of time without moving, often having nothing to show for it. But when we did see something it was so rewarding, and I have many fond memories of watching them rolling, scratching and playing in front of us.
With thanks to Marc Freebrey for the beautiful photo that inspired this painting.
Original watercolour infused with flower essences on 300gsm cotton watercolour paper
Available unframed or framed in white solid wood frame.
‘Woodland Red’
Watercolour painting of Red Squirrel on 300gsm 100% cotton watercolour.
Size of painted area: 31×23cm (12×9”)
‘Woodland Red’ is my most delicate red squirrel painting to date. Whilst painting it, I had the lovely experience of the paint doing the work for me. I found myself flowing with the organic shapes that watercolour naturally forms on the paper, and I gently picked out the details of the squirrel from here.
When we first moved to the centre of the Lake District in 2000, Red Squirrels were common and would regularly visit our garden. It was a delight to be around them. Now, they are more scarce, and it is all the more precious when we do catch a glimpse of them nestled in the branches, finding plenty of food in the local woodlands.
Available framed in white solid wood St Ives frame.
‘Hidden Pathways’
Watercolour painting of Otter on 300gsm 100% cotton watercolour.
Size of painted area: 61×51xm (18×14”)
Hidden in the edges, between sea and land, in the sparkling deep greens and blues of water and seaweed, the otter rests.
Available unframed or framed in white solid wood frame.
