British Wildlife Artist Writer Illustrator

Botanical Art Journal Sketching nature can take many forms. This watercolour and ink study of a bee and some blackberries from the garden started out as a rough sketch of the berries and the bramble leaf. Botanical Art Journal : Bees and Blackberries in Watercolour and Ink. London. Kent. The process of sketching can be relaxing as well as a means of developing observational skill and discovering more about flowers, fruits or wildlife. Most importantly, sketching is an enjoyable activity. Regular botanical and nature sketching will soon fill a botanical art journal. Once this nature sketch of the berries was done, the bee was added, then the ladybird. The pencil lines were enhanced with watercolour and ink, then text and lettering were added freehand to fill out the spaces on the paper and explore layout options. Slowly, a botanical journey was underway on a warm afternoon, a perfect moment for sketching, as the bees buzzed around some nearby flowers in the background and f...

Pond Life : Duck in Watercolour and Ink A pond is habitat to a variety of wildlife and birds in addition to the pond-life that lives in the water. Pond Life Painting : Duck in Watercolour and Ink The first alert to action around the pond is often a commotion and some splashing around in the water, usually caused by ducks, geese or swans. Observing and sketching birds can be an enjoyable way to become familiar with their anatomy, patterns and colours. Sometimes a sketch can seem to carry little information; it might be lacking detail or it doesn’t appeal in some other way. This watercolour and ink painting started as a quick sketch. A 6b blunt pencil was used, resulting in a heavy sketch without much detail. Later, it was sketched again from the original sketch and references, with watercolour and ink added for a more creative painting. Sketching at the pond or park is a great way to build resource material for more detailed or adventurous paintings and drawings. It...

Sketch Woodland Wildlife and Habitats Come along to an outdoor art workshop to sketch nature and enjoy a little time outside this summer under the canopy of native woodland in a historic country park. Workshop: Friday 30th August 2019 : 9am - 1pm Sketch Woodland Wildlife and Habitats This workshop is suitable for anyone who enjoys nature and would like to creatively record their findings in a sketchbook or nature journal. Bring your own sketchbook, nature journal or paper, a pencil and anything else, including colours, that you would like to use to seize the spirit of the outdoors. Nature Journaling, or Nature Sketching Nature sketching, or journaling – it doesn’t matter how you describe it –  helps make a note of your personal thoughts and memories of the moment. It can help discover more about the local wildlife and habitats encountered outside. It can become a reference for creative or more detailed art activities later. Get Started Upon arriving at BE...

Wildlife Garden Bees and Flowers. This garden sketching workshop will focus on the Wildlife Garden at High Elms Country Park this summer: bees, flowers, plants and fruit, birds, butterflies, bugs, pond-life and even a natural history specimen of a rabbit, in case the regular rabbit visitor doesn't make an appearance on sketching day ! Workshop: Friday 16th August 2019 : 9am - 1pm Join us to create botanical sketches and detailed observations of bees and flowers, fruit and trees, birds and pond life from the Wildlife Garden; sketches can be used as preparation for later artwork and nature compositions or as a record of your memories from the garden visit. Add notes to sketches from garden species to use as reference material for further inquiry into the wildlife and plants that grab your attention. We will be based in and around BEECHE Visitor Centre, spending time outdoors for as much of the workshop as possible. You will have the opportunity to observe, sketch and mak...

Nature Garden Sketches. Nature Art Workshop: filling the sketchbook with flowers, fruits and flyers from the country park garden. Workshop: Saturday 10th August 2019 : 11am - 3pm Visit High Elms Country Park this summer for a relaxing day out, sketching its formal gardens and wild patches: nature garden sketches of flowers, fruits and flyers (butterflies, bees, birds, dragonflies) are in abundance in the gardens and wildlife patches of this beautiful country park managed by id verde for Bromley Council and historically linked to Kent countryside, just along the road from the home of Charles Darwin. You will be offered refreshments upon arrival and meet the BEECHE Educational Team Member, whilst you view, sketch and make brief notes on the natural history items displayed at the BEECHE Visitor Centre. We will then walk a short distance to take in the view across the formal gardens and pause briefly to sketch the garden landscape. Capture the different flower and ...

Pond Sketching Workshop at High Elms Country Park Art event in and around London and Kent. An outdoor art workshop for artists, non-artists, nature-lovers and nature experts - anyone who enjoys spending relaxing time outdoors. Workshop: Friday 9th August 2019 : 9am - 1pm Pond Sketching Workshop : London, Kent. Jump-start a nature journal or simply fill up your sketchbook with views and discoveries from in and around the pond: S ketch the pond plants, wildlife and birds that frame the pond above water to make a record of the pond landscape in your sketchbook.  Fill your journal with sketches of the textures of the bulrushes , the patterned feathers of a waterbird, the structures and flying motions of dragons and damsels. Try out pond-dipping and wonder at the strange anatomies of the underwater pond-life that appears magical beneath magnifiers - have a go at drawing them. Possibly see water boatmen, stickleback, newts, frogs, water skaters and water sn...

Sketch Nature Workshops at High Elms Country Park. Art workshops this Summer : Kent, London, Sussex, Surrey. Sketch Nature Workshops. BOOKINGS AVAILABLE NOW! High Elms Country Park Introduction to Summer Nature Sketching Outdoor Workshops SKETCH NATURE : ART WORKSHOPS : Introduction to outdoor Summer Sketching at High Elms, on the borders of Kent and London. ‘ Bright and happy thoughts, contentment and peace of mind’ - Lubbock, past owner of High Elms. Follow the footsteps of Sir John Lubbock who enjoyed spending time outdoors observing the natural world around his home, which is now a local nature reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) situated on the borders of London and K ent, but also within reach from areas of Surrey and Sussex. U nwind as you observe and sketch some of the local nature and habitats within the grounds of this beautiful countryside . It is l ocated just along the road from the home of Charles Darwin in Kent,...

Nature Sketching Workshops Sketching outdoors takes many forms! Come along this Summer to High Elms Country Park, for some outdoor sketching workshops! There are many ways to enjoy and benefit from sketching! The outdoor sketching at High Elms is a combination of several forms of sketching. Here are some different approaches to filling a sketchbook that will be woven into the four nature sketching workshops created by Claire Murthy, local wildlife and nature artist. Landscape sketching. It can be the long, drawn out days of Summer, out in the wildflower fields, plein air sketching - a traditional way to capture beautiful scenery, surrounding wildlife and buildings and serve as aide-memoire to the experience or to be used later as reference work for landscape paintings and drawings. At High Elms we will be doing some quick landscape sketches of pond areas, woodland patches, wildlife gardens and formal gardens to record the habitats and environments of different plant, animal ...

Wildlife sketching and drawing. There are many views on foxes - and rightly so, for there are many individual situations and perspectives to consider; here's one. Fox and Bluebells in the Garden - Ink Sketch Wildlife in the Garden: 'Blossom' - by name and nature. Sketching can extend an understanding of a subject, long after the encounter with wildlife has passed, or an observation has expired. This quick, rough ink sketch reveals a connectivity between wildlife and human viewer ( are we bridged by thoughts beyond the physical appearance ?). Her eyes often shifted between a fixed stare and a vacant gaze. She seemed to both fear and seek a little kindness each time she trotted up the garden to greet me (or perhaps she was after the food). The small vixen spent almost every hour of her last few months by the back door. She became a familiar face to the household pets who protected her by chasing away a couple of large dog foxes who often tried to steal her foo...

Sketching as a shared creative process.   “ Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.” (Leonardo Da Vinci) Both are a matter of lines - and it can be a fine line between poetry and art. Sketchbook : Shell in Graphite and Coloured Pencll Here's a quick sketch of a shell, with a little colour - plus the last verse of a poem that was written, off the cuff, as a result of the sketch, about the art of sketching and the expression of writing. Their value goes beyond the paper record as a means of capturing the essence of life.

General Benefits of Sketching. There are many benefits to be gained from sketching - more than just trying to get the pencil lines in the right places; if it were merely that, there would be (and often is) a great deal of disappointment associated with keeping a ' sketchbook '! Sketchbook Squirrel. “ I cannot rest, I must draw, however poor the result, and when I have a bad time come over me it is a stronger desire than ever." (Beatrix Potter) *     *     * The joy of sketching. Fortunately, it is not necessarily the quality of the end-result that makes it worthwhile ! It can be quite therapeutic - perhaps a daily treat - to spend a few moments engrossed in a subject. The end results of quick sketches can, by their nature, be rough - but they can also naturally record a variety of aspects on a subject that might otherwise be overlooked when the focus is on what needs to be done rather than just doing it. When to sketch. Sketchi...