Gouache painting of long-tailed tits for the upcoming book about my local nature reserve.
Long-tailed tits make stretchy nests from a base of moss and spider silk. On the outside they’re covered in lichen for camouflage and inside are lined with feathers for cosiness!
I forgot to bring seed with me so the pigeons demand FLESH. Thankfully they have pathetic little jaw muscles and can barely give more than a pinch, so I let them try their very best to rip off my fingers.
Earlier this year, I was lucky enough to come across this stunning barn owl hunting during golden hour. I'd been watching the light change over this field for hours and it was stunning, so to be lucky enough to see this gorgeous bird fly right over it was a once in a lifetime experience.
Hedgehogs have no right to be that freaking cute. They're so adorable! Look at them! I just want to boop all their noses and knit them little hats while cuddling them.
I mean c'mon, look at this face! Don't you just want to squish it? (In the best possible way)
Painting I was commissioned to do for an upcoming book about my local nature reserve here in North Yorkshire, UK.
All the digital paintings i made for the book are of real places. It was so lovely to be asked to illustrate my home and fun trying to capture the seasonal light and mood of somewhere I know so well!
Here is a lesser spotted woodpecker visiting the area in winter. Pictured with barn owl, roe deer and gulls coming into roost on the floodwater.
About five or six times a year I'm lucky enough to see it going about its foxy business while I'm in the kitchen early in the morning, or while I'm working from home on a nice day.
Today it came out from where I think it lives, under next door's shed, and had a good scratch in the sunny patch under our apple trees. I'm lucky enough to have a phone with a decent camera so I got good pics from my home office window. (You can also see the lesser spotted washing line).
Our garden has been left to go pretty wild, mainly because the fox lives there and I love foxes. Also I'm chronically ill and my husband is autistic, so garden maintenance is low on the priority list 🤷♀️ I am happy to have a little patch of urban wilderness if it means I get to see British native wildlife from my house.