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/