New challenges on the easel

The trek to Everest Base Camp over Christmas was an incredible experience and I have returned with so many ideas for paintings. Also great respect for those who take on the massive challenge of actually climbing this mountain. Apart from the obvious demands of the climb on muscles, the rigours of altitude and freezing temperatures is something I could not imagine coping with for longer than a few days.
Nature definately has the upper hand here. Snow Leopards find sanctuary above 3,500 metres where endless scree slopes and glaciated valleys keep man at bay. I hope the Himalayas will always watch over this big cat. When you stand gasping for air beneath the snow capped peaks, watchful and menacing in their icy silence you feel that the Snow Leopard has a formidable ally.  I am looking forward to painting one in the habitat I have now experienced.

Destinations Travel Show

I will be exhibiting work at the Destinations Show at Earl's Court in London, February 2 - 5th  2012. Come to the Made in the UK section of the show and visit stand MU64 where I will be working on couple of paintings. I will be sharing the stand with Wildlife Sculptor Wendy Hunt who will also be working on a new piece during the event. Originals and prints will be available for purchase.
For more information and to book tickets please visit:

www.destinationsshow.com

Trip to the Himalayas and Everest base Camp

This Christmas I will be travelling to Nepal to trek to Everest base camp, a journey which I hope will provide plenty of great reference for future paintings. Snow Spirit, shown here, was painted some time ago and I have always felt uneasy about painting rocks and mountains I have never seen. It is the little details of lichens, dead grasses and the way rocks tumble together which you cannot invent or take from other habitats. I shall be studying these with as much interest as I will the amazing views in the Kumba. Just hope that with temperatures of -10C to -30C I will be able to hold a pencil and sketch!

Wildlife Expo

The spring and summer were extremely busy with various illustration projects including a big book about bugs (see Stag Beetle illustration opposite ) and two exhibitions. Now I am preparing for the Wildlife Expo at Alexandra Palace 14 - 15 October. This is a new event and looks set to be a great day out for anyone with an interest in all things wildlife. I will be teaming up with two other wildlife artists, sculptor Wendy Hunt and pencil artist Jamie Boots and Simon Trapnell from Nature in Art who will be giving a talk at the event. As well as original artwork I will also have a selection of prints available on my stand and will be painting during the two days of the event. If you are planning to come to this fabulous event please come and visit me on stand 92. It would be great to meet you!

For more information or to book tickets please visit www.wildlifexpo.com

Limited Edition print for Lion Aid

The past few months have been really busy with illustration projects. However, inbetween the illustrations I have produced a drawing for a charity I now support called Lion Aid. This drawing has been turned into a Limited Edition Print entitled 'Endangered Nobility' and is available for sale through me or from Lion Aid . The print is £50, is limited to a run of just 100 and it is hoped that sales will help support this very hard working charity and its efforts to save the African Lion from extinction.

Inspiration for the drawing of this Lion came from a very beautiful male I had seen on the Chobe river in July 2010. Separated from his brother in the early morning, the Lion strode purposefully through the white sand, stopping regularly to roar into the sunrise. He was indeed noble but also appeared quite vulnerable, alone and obviously anxious to be reunited with his sibling. It seems almost inconceivable that the iconic African Lion should be on the brink of a slide towards extinction but, shockingly, their numbers have declined to the point where action now needs to be taken to save them. For more information and to give your support to Lions please visit the Lion Aid website http://www.lionaid.org/

Marwell Wildlife Art Exhibition

It's August and that means the annual MWAS exhibition in Marwell Zoo Hampshire. Now in its 12th year, this event has grown to be one of the biggest wildlife art exhibitions in the UK and is a great place to see and buy some wonderful works of art. This year I will be exhibiting four pieces in the show, including 'Evening Flight' shown here. This old barn was a derelict building when I found it on the Morestead road between Winchester and Bishop's Waltham. Overwhelmed with nettles and brambles, it seemed the perfect home for a Barn Owl and I could imagine one nesting there and then flying out to quarter the adjacent fields in the evening light. I notice now that this barn is being renovated and turned into a home, which is the fate of many old barns in our countryside. Lovely to live in such a place but I can't helping feeling a little sad to see the nettles scraped away and the brambles dug up, removing the homes and food of butterflies and moths. Voles and mice will find no hiding place in new concrete and gravel and the Owls will look elsewhere for a nest site. Maybe the new owner will consider putting up an Owl box just incase one should wish to share the space. What a privilege to have an Owl as a lodger.

Marwell International Wildlife Art Society Exhibition

26 -30th August, 2010

Marwell Hall, Marwell Wildlife, Colden Common,

Winchester, Hants, SO21 1JH.

For more details please contact http://www.miwas.co.uk/

Sketching in Savuti

Sitting and sketching on the banks of the newly flowing Savuti Channel in Northern Botswana. So peaceful with just the calls of Hornbills and the tapping of a woodpecker in the trees beside me and the sound of fish rising to feed in the river.