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.

Back to Botswana

I was very lucky to return to Botswana for a safari this July/August. Wow! What an amazing trip. For the first time I travelled in to the vast Makgadikgadi Salt Pans to sleep under the stars and meet a family of wild Meerkats. It is hard to describe how empty but how beautiful this place is. The silence and simple palette of colours is mesmerising and so inspiring. In comparison, the lush greens and golds of the Okavango Delta was a total contrast. Experiencing some of the highest water levels in 40 years, parts of the Delta and neighbouring Savuti Marsh are now under water and carpetted in water lillies. I was so lucky to be able to visit African Horseback in the heart of the Okavango Delta and ride with some of the most experienced riding escorts I have ever met. Both horses and riders were superb and it was the most wonderful way to watch wildlife. Elephants and buffalo, warthogs and antelope largely ignored the horses and the peace of riding through Mopane forests and vast savannah was overwhelming. I loved being there. Such an inspiring place in which to paint.

NEWA 16th July -1st August

This year I will be entering three paintings into NEWA, one of the UK's most prestigious and exciting wildlife art events. 'Tawny Owl on a Dead Tree ' shown here, is one of the pieces to be submitted. Such a lovely subject to paint with its intense, black eyes and soft, russet coloured plumage. This owl is so often heard but hard to spot in the dense canopy of deciduous woodland where it prefers to live. I once followed three newly fledged chicks, scrambling through the branches of some huge oaks in a sprawling old garden in noisy pursuit of their parents. Whenever one arrived with a vole or mouse the chicks flapped and screamed their determination to grab the mouthful. The failing light eventually frustrated my attempts to watch them but I listened to their noisy progress through the trees and away.

The NEWA exhibition has grown and developed over the years and is a great showcase for many of the UK's wildlife artists and also attracts entries from further afield. Together with the MIWAS exhibition, it is one of the summer's most exciting events for artists and wildlife art enthusiasts alike.

NEWA 16th July - 1st August, 2010

Gordale Nursery and Garden Centre

Burton,

Chester High Road,

Wirral, CH64 8TF http://www.-newa-uk.com/

Nature in Art and NEWA

Now that British Summer time has started it is time to think of all the events and exhibitions which are scattered through the next few months and two are now definite. The first will be in May at Nature in Art near Gloucester. I will be artist in residence from May 18th - 23rd with a sculptor called Wendy Hunt. So, if anyone is in the area please do visit. Nature in Art is a fantastically inspiring place for wildlife artists and enthusiasts so well worth a visit. I am looking forward to being there in early summer and enjoying some walks in the countryside.

NEWA - The National Exhibition of Wildlife Art - will run this year from July 16th -August 1st and is held at Gordale Nursery and Garden Centre in The Wirral. For details and more information visit http://www.newa-uk.com/. This exhibition has grown into one of the most prestigious wildlife art exhibitions in the UK and attracts artists from around the world. The painting of the Zebra mare and Foal pictured here will be exhibited at NEWA and will be for sale. I have been planning a companion painting of a young male Kudu to go with it as I saw both the Zebras and Kudu in the Boteti river bed. The colours of that day left a lasting impression. If time allows it would be great to paint that other picture.

Dinosaurs!

At last a chance to put something on my Blog spot. I have been illustrating dinosaurs for a children's book since Christmas and only just finished. I feel as if I have painted through winter, emerging from behind the easel as the spring arrives to start planning commissions and exhibitions. 2010 has been really busy so far but that is great!