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.

Trees: English Oak

Posted on in Trees
I’ve been working on illustrations for “The Tree Forager” by Adele Nozedar, due to be published in August 2021.  It’s inspired me to have a look at a few of my favourite trees.  The English oak is the first in the series. The English oak Quercus robur truly is an iconic tree.  English Oak is […] Read more
Ladybug entomological illustration by Lizzie Harper

Equipment: How to Choose a Waterproof Pen and Ink for Watercolour

Posted on in Illustration Equipment
Equipment: How to Choose a Waterproof Pen and Ink for Watercolour is a guest blog from KT of Goldspot pen shop. Ink and watercolour is a classic, intriguing combination that creates some really amazing effects when accomplished with the right tools.  Black outlines define a beautiful watercolour painting that jumps off the page! Fig illustration […] Read more

Butterflies of Bentham Sand dunes

Posted on in Current projects and news
Several butterflies are included in the recent landscape illustration completed for South Devon Area of Natural Beauty.  This blog will discuss each species, and links to my earlier blog on the wildlife and plants of Bentham bay sand dunes. Clouded Yellow The Clouded Yellow, Colias croceus, travels to Britain every year from southern Europe and Africa.  […] Read more

Comparing Goldenrod Species

Posted on in Botany: Telling species apart
Comparing Goldenrod species was one of my tasks in a recent commission  for a Horticultural company in Sweden.  All the illustrations were sketchbook studies.  Every plant was an invasive. Overview of Canadian Goldenrod Solidago canadensis and Early Goldenrod Solidago gigantea The focus of the illustration is the Canadian goldenrod. Most Goldenrods are native to the […] Read more
Lupin

Garden Lupin Sketchbook study

Posted on in Botanical Illustration step by step, Botany: Telling species apart, Current projects and news, Illustration techniques
The Garden Lupin, Lupinus polyphyllus, is one of the invasive plants I was recently asked to illustrate for FOR Sweden.  This blog talks you through the steps involved in creating a finished botanical illustration of this flower.  There seems to be an enormous amount of confusion over the English name of this plant: Blue bonnet […] Read more

Sketchbook illustrations of Invasive Plants

Posted on in Current projects and news
I’ve recently completed work on a series of sketchbook illustrations of invasive plants.  The client is FOR Sweden, and the botanical illustrations will be used on a big poster at a horticulture conference. Project overview There are eleven plants in total, and each species needed certain aspects illustrating.  In all cases I need to supply […] Read more

Jersey Post: Coastal Flowers Stamp issue

Posted on in Current projects and news, Showcase of themed natural history illustrations
Jersey Post recently brought out their “Coastal Flowers: Post and Go” stamp issue, which I was lucky enough to have illustrated.  (All illustrations in this blog are copyright Jersey Post 2020). Illustrating stamps Each stamp issue involves illustrating six stamps, a presentation pack, an envelope for the First Day Cover, and a date stamp.  This […] Read more
halophytes Coastal seaside plant flowers

Halophytes: Salt Tolerant Plants

Posted on in Biological terminology: Definitions, botanical terms
Halophytes: Salt Tolerant Plants Halophytes are plants that tolerate or thrive in salty conditions.  I recently finished the illustrations for a chart of seaside flowers, and got to wondering how these plants can survive in these hostile habitats?  Another job, illustrating stamps for a Seaside flowers issue, added to my interest. This blog had me […] Read more
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