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.

Hay Festival

Hay Festival Mug Design

Hay Festival approached me early in the year, to see if I could come up with a design for the Hay Festival 2022 commemorative mug.  I knew it was a big ask – a landscape full of local flowers and animals with Hay bluff behind, and plenty of references to the festival.  I also knew […] Read more
Botanical illustration from the Brecknockshire Flora

Trees: Yew

Trees: Yew is another blog inspired by my illustrations for The Tree Forager by Adele Nozedar, published by Watkins.  The book has inspired me to think about some of my favourite trees.  The Yew tree Taxus baccata is the seventh in this series, along side the Sycamore, Ash, Hawthorn, Rowan, Elder and the Oak. The Yew […] Read more
unframed original for sale

Geraniums, Crane’s-bills and Stork’s-bills

Geraniums, Crane’s-bills and Stork’s-bills is a guest blog from the wonderful Stewart Roberts, a local naturalist who shares his knowledge of nature and Welsh folklore on his wonderful Facebook page, where his illustrates his posts with his excellent wildlife photos. Potted Geranium from the garden centre The Geranium family Hardy Geraniums and the half-hardy pot plants Pelargoniums […] Read more

Trees: Elder

Trees: Elder is another blog inspired by my illustrations for “The Tree Forager” by Adele Nozedar, published by Watkins.  The book has inspired me to think about some of my favourite trees.  The Elder Sambucus nigra is the sixth in this series, along side the Sycamore, Ash, Hawthorn, Rowan and the Oak. The Elder Sambucus nigra […] Read more

Nature Notebook & The Family Tree

Nature notebooks seem to have run in my family for a long time.  I recently found one completed by my Great aunt Nina, back in 1919, when she was ten.  This got me thinking about all the other artists in my family, and I decided to share some of them, and their artwork. Front cover […] Read more
holly

Holly: History, Folklore & Wales

Holly: History & Folklore is a guest blog from the wonderful Stewart Roberts, a local naturalist who shares his knowledge of nature and Welsh folklore on his wonderful Facebook page, where his illustrates his posts with his excellent wildlife photos.  It can also be seen as a partner to my blog series on British Trees. […] Read more

Cow Parsley: All about an Umbellifer

Cow parsley Anthriscus sylvestris was on the list of plants I recently illustrated for FOR Sweden.  These plants are invasive in Scandinavia, and particularly troublesome in Iceland. Sketchbook studies All the botanical illustrations I do for FOR are in a sketchbook format.  I love working this way; it gives me the opportunity to include tons […] Read more
botanical illustration of mountain ash by Lizzie harper

Trees: Rowan

Trees: Rowan is another blog inspired by my illustrations for “The Tree Forager” by Adele Nozedar, published by Watkins.  It’s inspired me to have a look at some of my favourite trees.  The Rowan is another in this series, along side the Sycamore, Ash, Hawthorn, and the Oak. Rowan Sorbus aucuparia is a small tree, […] Read more

Illustrating Bracken and Ferns

Illustrating bracken and ferns may seem to be a really difficult job.  However, the challenge lies in the drawing, not in adding the colour. I recently completed an illustration of Bracken Pteridium aquilinum for a forthcoming Field Studies Council Guide to the flora of Woodlands.  I thought this was the perfect chance to explain the […] Read more
edible foraging

Trees: Hawthorn

Trees: Hawthorn is another blog inspired by my illustrations for “The Tree Forager” by Adele Nozedar, recently published by Watkins.  It’s inspired me to have a look at a few of my favourite trees.  The Hawthorn is another in this series, along side the Sycamore and the Oak. Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna is one of the commonest […] Read more