Here are the blogs I’ve written over the years.  Subjects range from step by step painting tutorials, to botanical anatomy, to current projects.

They appear in the order they’ve been written.  However, if you scroll down the page you’ll find they have also been organised into categories to make browsing a little more focused.

There are even some guest blogs in amongst.  I hope you enjoy them, and do please feel free to leave a comment.

 

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Illustrating the Amazing Blue Butterfly

Posted on in Showcase of themed natural history illustrations
Scientific illustration involves learning about your subjects, as well as illustrating them.  I’ve always been amazed by  blue butterflies (family Lycaenidae). I love their vivid hues and  their fascinating life-cycles.  Their interactions with ants amaze me. Blue butterflies Most of the information in this blog comes from the website of Butterfly Conservation.  This charity is concerned with recording […] Read more

Pembrokeshire coastal plants

Posted on in Scientific Illustrator out and about
Walking on the Coastal path in Pembrokeshire makes for a wonderful break.  Natural history illustrators go on holiday too.  This is where they find their inspiration.  I was just treated to a glorious weekend of walking, and looking at the coastal flowers. The Pembrokeshire Coastal Path We walk from Manorbier to Barafundle beach.  This stretch is gorgeous, taking in […] Read more

Natural history illustrations of Dragonflies

Posted on in Showcase of themed natural history illustrations
Following on from my natural science entomological illustrations of damselflies last week; this week I’ll be looking at common British dragonflies. I really learnt to love these amazing animals whilst working on a series of postage stamps for Jersey Post (see my blog on this “dream job“); and this affection continues. Identifying dragonflies Dragonflies are glorious insects, […] Read more

Scientific Illustration: Parasites

Posted on in Showcase of themed natural history illustrations
Natural history illustration involves learning about the animals and plants you draw; and recently I drew a parasite.  This got me thinking about parasites in general.   What a  diverse group of plants and animals practice this form of feeding! Looking through my files I can’t find many parasitic plants or animals illustrated.  This interests me. […] Read more

Festival of the Hedgehog

Posted on in Painting workshops
Natural history illustration includes demonstrations of botanical illustration skills, teaching, and loving animals like the humble hedgehog. Artist in residence during The Festival of the Hedgehog I was recently asked to be “artist in residence” and to lead a drop-in workshop at Ross-on-Wye’s central library.  This is to mark Ross’s Celebration of the Hedgehog (the symbol of the […] Read more

Botanical Illustration: the achene

Posted on in botanical terms
Natural science illustration and natural history illustration need you to understand what your subject looks like, and he correct words needed to describe it.  Last week my blog was about fruit type definitions, inspired by some work I did for Rodale’s 21st Century Herbal by Michael Balick.  Whilst getting my head around the terminology of fruit types, I […] Read more

Botanical terms for fruit types

Posted on in botanical terms
Botanical and scientific illustration requires biological knowledge, and this is certainly true when it comes to painting botanical diagrams.  I recently did some illustrations for Rodale’s 21st Century Herbal by Michael Balick.  One of these was a diagram of fruit types.   Sources of information on Fruit type This got me thinking about how little I knew […] Read more

Natural History Illustration: Lansdscape

Posted on in Illustration techniques
Natural History illustration needs landscape painting skills Natural history illustration incorporates a wide range of techniques.  I realised about ten years ago that a desirable type of of natural science illustration was one that incorporated numerous species of plant and animal into one landscape.  This wetland landscape done for Natural England is an example. Working on […] Read more
Heterorrhina elegans beetle (Portrait)

Natural Science Illustration: Beetles

Posted on in Showcase of themed natural history illustrations
Natural history illustrators have passions for their subject matter, and we also tend to have “favourites.”  Without a shadow of a doubt, one of my favourite subjects to illustrate is insects.  I’m especially fond the beetles (Coleoptera). A Passion for Beetles Chrysochroa buqueti rugicollis I’m not sure where my passion for beetles sprung from.  I […] Read more

Natural History Illustration: A Week of Work

Posted on in Current projects and news
Natural science illustration work isn’t all botanical drawings and natural history illustration.  My work load this fortnight shows what I mean. A job’s come in from Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxon Wildlife trust.  It involves illustrating a map of their nature reserve at Hartslock.  The second part is illustrating a large landscape of the countryside, and the […] Read more
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