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.

Rushes: An Introduction

Posted on in Biological terminology: Definitions
Having recently written blogs about the anatomy of grasses and sedges; this week I’ll be examining rushes.  As with the Cyperaceae and Graminaceae, these common and beautiful plants are frequently overlooked.  Many seem to favour of wild flowers with florid petals and bright colours.  However, rushes deserve a closer look. Hairy Wood rush Luzula pilosa Anatomy of Rushes:  Overview […] Read more

Grass: An introduction

Posted on in botanical terms
Grasses (Poaceae) are one of my favourite botanical illustration subjects.  I adore drawing and painting them.  I have written a blog on my passion for this family of plants before.  However, I wanted to take another look at the way grasses are put together.  I also want to introduce beginners to basic grass anatomy and terminology.  This […] Read more

Support the Bees & Save the World: by Gus Stewart

Posted on in Showcase of themed natural history illustrations
Support the Bees and Save the World by Guest blogger Gus Stewart.  (For Gus’s guest blog on creating an eco-friendly lawn, click here) Bees and food Apples, peaches, pears, strawberries, onions, hazelnut, green beans, celery, coffee, watermelon, walnut – no, this isn’t a grocery list. These are just a few of the fruits, vegetables, and nuts […] Read more

Step by Step illustration of Tupelo & Sweet orange

Posted on in Botanical Illustration step by step
A recent natural history illustration commission was to complete two botanical illustrations for labels on jars of honey.  The plants in question were Sweet orange Citrus sinensis and Tupelo Nyssa ogeche. Neither plant grows wild here in the UK, and there was quite a tight deadline so I needed to work from other illustrations and photos.  For more […] Read more
autumn

Autumn Illustration workshop at Cambridge Botanic Gardens

Posted on in Painting workshops
In the autumn I was lucky enough to do two day’s teaching at Cambridge University Botanic Gardens teaching a botanical illustration course with a focus on drawing autumn fruits, berries, and leaves,  to a class of twelve adults who varied from quite experienced to complete beginners.  The first day we looked at leaves, and collected a wonderful assortment from […] Read more

Hereford Art Week

Posted on in Current projects and news
Back in September, I took part in Hereford Art Week for the first time. Hereford Art Week logo Going under the name of Beautiful Botanicals , Lea Gregory (another botanical illustrator) and I set up in her gorgeous hill-top studio.  We opened our doors to whoever chose to visit. Busy working desk during Hereford Art week Preparing for Hereford Art week […] Read more

Natural history illustration of Gull anatomy

Posted on in Current projects and news
Sometimes commissions for natural history illustration or botanical illustration can be really straight-forward and simple.  I recently had a job for Bloomsbury Publishing which fell into this category. Bloomsbury needed a few simple illustrations for their upcoming publication, “Gulls of the World” by Klaus Olsen. These were to be pen and ink line drawings for anatomical reference.  […] Read more

Botanical Illustration: Comparing HP Watercolour Papers 3

Posted on in Illustration Equipment, Illustration techniques
Introduction to the watercolour paper quest This is the third of three reviews of Watercolour Hot Press papers for botanical illustration.  This time, I find the holy grail…a replacement!  Please check out the first and  second in this series for more tests and results. As a natural history illustrator and someone who does plenty of botanical illustration, […] Read more

Step by step: Blackberry

Posted on in Botanical Illustration step by step
I love doing botanical illustrations of blackberries.   So I was thrilled when Jersey Post commissioned an illustration of the Jersey Bramble Rubus caesarius as one of the postage stamps on their “Fruits and Berries” issue.  I thought I’d break down the steps involved in painting a ripe juicy blackberry in watercolour, and  write a step by step blog. All illustrations […] Read more

Botanical Illustrations of Fruit for Jersey Post

Posted on in Current projects and news
I love doing botanical illustrations of fruit, so when Jersey Post commissioned a series of “Fruits and Berries” for a postage stamp issue I was delighted. The fruits and berries that needed illustrating were the Dewberry Rubus caesius, the Elderberry Sambucus nigra, the Wild strawberry Fragaria vesca, the Jersey bramble Rubus caesarius, Sloes Prunus spinosa, and Black bryony Dioscorea communis. All the botanical illustrations in […] Read more

Flower Anatomy workshop

Posted on in Painting workshops
Why learn botany? I recently taught a workshop at the wonderful Walled Garden in Treberfydd on flower anatomy.  I think it’s vital for botanical illustrations to be well-informed about their subject matter.  To this end I think botanical illustrators need to learn some of the basics of how flowering plants are put together.  One of the best […] Read more
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