Magic is only real to those who believe in itI’m so happy to share with you a project that I’ve been working on the past few months

‘Arthur’ pet portrait commission now complete, oils on 8×10”.

I love how the poppies completed this piece and made it pop! #oilpainting #dogportrait #petportraitartist #petportrait #animalart #oilpainter #goldenretriever #dogart #paintingsdaily #artsy #oilpaintings

I know it may be a little bit cliché, but I care not.

I’m going to go ahead and say it – I’ve always considered wolves as one of my ‘spirit’ animals. Maybe because I’m a bit of a lone wolf myself, but on a more logical and subliminal level, they’ve been steeped in local culture and lore from my home town of Bury St Edmunds.

I am flirting with the boundaries between fantasy and reality…I like it here One of my next projects will be creating a whimsical home for the 3D flying stoat that I could not resist making with my ethical taxidermy background…(this little fella was sadly found on the roadside)I hope you’re excited as I am for the next flight of the journey!

Well, hello! I’m so pleased you’re here so I can welcome your eyes on to what I am working on at the moment, I really feel like I am finding my feet with this one!

Details of ‘Harbinger’, oil on 12×16 panel. Currently on show at @artspace_woodbridge 🖼 Did you know that Swallows can be observed flying close to the ground when bad weather is on the way?

Last month, I was part of the first exhibition with the Four Nature group, which is compromised of myself and three other incredibly lovely, like-minded creative ladies that all share the same vision as me, how lovely is that! I will leave their links below this post so you can pleasure your eyes over their beautiful creations.

It was hosted at the Artspace gallery in Woodbridge and was a great success! I displayed a mixture of paintings old and new, from my new oil paintings portraying the wildlife that inspires me and the threats that jeopardise their very existence, some watercolour studies and my ethical taxidermy.

I was particularly surprised at people’s response to my taxidermy work, as it’s not everyones cup of tea and I was a little apprehensive. People saw the beauty of the birds I preserve and ancient stigmas of taxidermy only being an art to satisfy people’s gluttonous desires have very much changed these days, with the exception of abhorrent trophy hunters that is.

Soon, taxidermy specimens may offer the only way of coming up close and personal with species if we continue on our destructive path and I think that people are starting to see the historical and important value of my craft, as well as the beauty it invokes.

We have booked the same slot for next year, where I should have a much more defined portfolio of work to display.

Why make art using about nature and using natural materials?

Beauty opens the heart and the mind follows. By using art to create beautiful stories about our relationship with the natural world and highlighting its wonders, we, as artists, hope to add to the voices that are pointing out how crucial awe is to our mental well being as humans, how integral nature is to our sense of ourselves as a species and how irreplaceable the beauty and complexity that we find in the organic truly is.

By using natural elements within the artworks themselves, we afford ourselves the deep joy of giving our attention over fully to the elements we collect and work with. Hopefully we also express that joy in such a way that may encourage others to search out sensory experiences directly with nature or allow them to connect with nature from a different perspective having experienced the stories of our connection.

Through collecting, handling, observing and using natural materials to create works that celebrate the beauty of their materials and the landscapes they are a part of,  we offer small talismans of each of our very deep love and wonder of the more than human world around us.

I just want to say a HUGE thank you to Nicola, who is the brain child behind Four Nature for all of her hard work making this a possibility! X

I am so pleased to announce that I will be exhibiting my latest body of artwork at the Artspace gallery in Woodbridge, Suffolk in October! Let me tell you about it;

Back in the pre-covid times of winter 2019, I had the absolute delight of meeting fellow nature artist, Nicola Coe, when I was exhibiting at the Art Fair East event in Norwich. She has been nothing but lovely to me over the past couple of years, and her dedication and admiration for the natural world really shines through her beautiful, textural work and is what connected us.

Her connections to two other brilliant nature based artists Maria Clarke-Wilson and Gray Jordan who both work with natural elements from plant dyes to mineral pigments, lead to the birth of the group ‘Four Nature’ – Four artists that work with nature, for nature. I cannot express enough gratitude for Nicola for inviting me in to such a lovely group of like-minded artists, I am so excited to combine forces with these lovely ladies!

Although we all work in very different ways and have our own unique approach, we all ultimately share the same goal and that is to connect you back nature through the medium of our artwork.

I highly recommend you come along to the ‘Four Nature’ exhibition which runs from the 14th -20th October 2021 10am -5pm at the Artspace gallery in Woodbridge, Suffolk. For more info, I’ll leave a link below.

See you there!

I am not sure why, but something made me park in a country lay-by I have never stopped at before on my way back from the shop this week, and I got out to admire the view of the setting Suffolk sun. After a couple of minutes, to my astonishment, I heard the undeniable ‘Cronk’ of a raven nearby! At first, I thought my wishful ears were playing tricks on me, as Raven’s are not all that common here at all, but after the 3rd ‘cronk’ I couldn’t believe my luck. Although I didn’t see it, this was a more than perfect end to the week!

I live for those magic moments in nature and it made me reminisce on the painting I did last year titled ‘the messengers’. I have a fascination and a calling to Norse mythology, and sometimes I feel Huginn & Muninn are looking over me 🖤

What’s your favourite ‘magic’ moment you’ve experienced in nature?

I’m pleased to announce the arrival of my new range of greeting cards!

Printed on premium, recycled 300gsm card, this range of greeting cards are perfect for your bird nerd and wildlife enthusiast friends!

I’m currently trying to come up for a card for every occasion. I have lots more bird puns in the pipeline, but for now you can see and purchase the first set from my Etsy store by clicking on the button below.

Each card is £3 with free delivery to the UK.