Enjoying a floral safari at Tate Britain with a great group of students. It is a privilege to work in an inspiring place and with generous and enthusiastic people. Walking into the Prints and Drawings Room to see works by Mattisse, Caulfield, Hockney and many others was astonishing. Thank-you Tate.
Potato Town Open Studios
I'm taking part in the Potato Town Open Studios on 4 & 5 October with painter Pam Franklin, furniture designer John Callen and jeweller, Guen Palmer. Painter, Neil Drury and I are promoting workshops at the studios starting this autumn.
Breaking Ground
Three days on site at Bradford Park Avenue's former ground with artists, archeologists, sports historians and local fans. Pleased to be the botanical component of this fascinating football heritage project conceived by Neville Gabie.
Midsummer's Day
In the 9 Acre Wood on Midsummer's day. Inspiration for my tree sketchbook.
Out of the Shadows
Liberty Cap drawing for the cover of Out of the Shadows, a new title from Muswell Hill Press exploring psychedelic, or 'mind manifesting' experience.
Pollinators
A collection of butterflies for students to draw on my Summer Flowers and Pollinators course today
Spring in the 9 Acre Wood
With John Rogers in his 9 Acre Wood in Suffolk. John is sharing his extensive arboreal knowledge with me. He planted the wood in the 1980s with native english species. Inspiration for my tree sketch book.
The Wild Bit
Map of "The Wild Bit" commissioned as a gift for John Hardcastle. it is an area of woodland and ponds he has looked after during his retirement planting many unusual species, in particular conifers.
Pen and Ink
Students working on pen and ink drawings of winter trees. The beauty and variety of the buds and twig forms provide great subjects for line and tone drawings.
Monstrous Beasts
A drop-in workshop at Mottisfont House as part of their Halloween Big Draw Festival.
Mottisfont Medieval Alphabet
The completed medieval alphabet created by Portway Junior School pupils. Congratulations to
The Master of the Fish-Tailed Winged Bull
The Master of the Snake-Tailed Dragon
The Master of the Hairy, Bat-Winged LionRat
The Master of the Claw-Footed Scorpion
The Master of the Three Nostrilled Bat
The Master of the Armour and Sword Dragon
AKA Amelia, Jake, Nancy, Liam, Shante and Liam
Mottisfont Studio Last Day
Mottisfont studio just before it's time to pack up and return to London.
Final Washes on Mappa
Applying the final washes to Mappa to delineate the different geographical zones. At the centre (orange) is the Priory Precinct. Surrounding this, in yellow, is the farmland adjacent to the Priory. Beyond that (tan) the wider estate lands across southern england. The outer ring shows the landmass of the British mainland distorted to fit within the circular convention of a medieval map.
Designing Mappa
Creating a map of Mottisfont Priory in the 1340s in the form of a medieval map of the world or Mappa Mundi.
Medieval Alphabet Workshop
The final medieval illuminators workshop and the Mottisfont Medieval Alphabet is almost complete.
Greenhouse Lightbox
Medieval Alphabet Workshop in the garden at Portway Junior School. Greenhouses make very useful lightboxes.
Winchester Cathedral Visit
Year 5 pupils from Portway Junior School in Andover create drawings of medieval beasts at Winchester Cathedral after visiting the Winchester Bible.
Books of Hours
Medieval illuminated manuscripts and books of hours at the Medieval Galleries in the V&A provide inspiration for my residency at Mottisfont.
Mottisfont Oak
Drawing the Mottisfont Oak on a sunny spring afternoon. The Oak, estimated to be between 900 - 1100 years old, is the oldest living thing on the Mottisfont estate. It lived at mottisfont throughout its life as a medieval priory. It is a living relic of the monastic period.
Kew Herbarium
Sketching at the Kew Herbarium for a healthcare commission in Chester. The subject is plants that provide active chemical ingredients in modern medicines. I like to draw from life and herbaceous plants are hard to find in April. Pressed specimens provide invaluable information about plant structure and have a beauty all of their own. Many thanks to the Herbarium staff who were so helpful.
