Flower shapes: Symbolism & Cultural significance
Flower Shapes: Symbolism and Cultural Significance guest blog by Nina James Summer Flower [...]
Paul Reubens Artist level Youlan series Watercolour box: Review
Paul Rubens artist level YouLan series of solid watercolours is a set of [...]
Spotted fish
Spotted fish is another of my blogs on patterns in nature. You can [...]
Trees: Scots pine Pinus sylvestris
Scots Pine Pinus sylvestris Scots pine is one of a series of [...]
Researching a wildflower
Researching a wildflower involves gathering information on the anatomy, distinguishing characteristics, family, and [...]
Watercolour paints: Inside my paint box
Watercolour paint choice is very personal, and everyone will have their own favourite [...]
Trees: Small-leaved lime or Linden
Small-leaved lime Tilia cordata and other Lime or Linden trees This is [...]
Potatoes
Potatoes are ubiquitous vegetables, a staple in the west since their introduction from [...]
Patterns in Nature: A quick overview
Introducing patterns One of the things in nature which is worth taking a [...]
Variegation: Patterns on leaves
What is Variegation? Many of the patterns you see on plant leaves, especially [...]
Striped Patterns in Nature
Stripes Stripes are seen across the animal and plant kingdoms. Although the first [...]
Sand hill Screwmoss: An illustration challenge
Sand hill Screwmoss Syntrichia ruraliformis ruraliformis is one of the species completed for [...]
Great Burnet Step by Step
Recently, I’ve illustrated the Great Burnet, Sanguisorba officinalis for an interpretation board, to [...]
Common Grass species identification: Some easy shortcuts
As you may have noticed, I’m rather obsessed with grasses, and have blogged [...]
Wildflowers of Braunton Burrows
A recent commission involved illustrating 30 species for Braunton Burrows, a very beautiful [...]
Comparing Synthetic Watercolour Brushes – Part 5 (the final episode!)
This is the fifth and final of my blogs and linked films, looking [...]
Comparing Synthetic Watercolour Brushes – Part 4
Comparing Synthetic Watercolour Brushes – Part 4 is the fourth of my blogs [...]
Orchid Botanical Illustration Step by step
Orchids have always been a bit of a mystery to me, so when [...]
Comparing Synthetic watercolour brushes Part 3
This is the third of my blogs (and films, the one specific to [...]
Mosquito life cycle – illustrating the Anopholes mosquito
Introducing the African Malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae The mosquito is one of the [...]
Illustrating the Cannock Chase Berry Vaccinium intermedium
Cannock Chase Berry Vaccinium x intermedium is a really tricky subject to illustrate, [...]
The Bad Garden
The non eco-garden is a companion blog to my earlier one, explaining and [...]
Good Garden: A wildlife Haven
Illustrating a wildlife garden is always a challenge, but something I embrace. Not [...]
Carbon Cycle: A Complicated Illustration
When I was asked to “illustrate the Carbon cycle” for a brochure on [...]
Fungal treats at Cusop Churchyard
Fungal subjects always make my heart sing, so I was really pleased when [...]
Spotted Flycatcher step by step
Spotted Flycatchers Muscicapa striata are lovely birds, often overlooked because of their seemingly [...]
Trees: Birch
Birch trees: The Silver and the Downy Birch There are two main [...]
Bird’s-foot Trefoil: An Excellent Plant
Bird’s-foot Trefoil: Where to find it? This blog is in praise of [...]
Plant Evolution: A brief overview
Plant Evolution is complicated, and in this blog I plan on simplifying it [...]
Beatrix Potter: Illustrator and Inspiration
Beatrix Potter is known to people the world over as the creator of [...]
Trees: Beech
Introduction Beech trees are common across Britain, favouring chalky soils. The oldest Beech [...]
Natural History Illustration and Life Long Learning: The Field Studies Council
Natural History Illustration and Life-long learning: Field Studies Council Courses is my blog [...]
Flowers of Montserrat: Botanical illustration
Montserrat is an island in the Carribbean, part of the Leeward isles and [...]
Illustrating Yellow flowers: Five approaches
Botanical illustrations of yellow flowers can be really challenging. As you try to [...]
Ants in the UK: Four subfamilies
Having recently written a blog on the anatomy of ants, and been on [...]
Rocky shore ecosystem illustration
Rocky shore ecosystem: a lucky break I recently illustrated The Hidden Universe [...]
The Brecknockshire Flora
The Brecknockshire flora is written by John Crellin and Mike Porter, and is [...]
Monocot and Eudicot variety: Illustrations
Monocots and Eudicots are enormous groups, making up over 80% of plants on [...]
Sedges, Grasses and Rushes: Telling the families apart
I recently went on another excellent FSC course, this time on identifying grasses [...]
Ant anatomy for Beginners
I’ve recently gone on a couple of fabulous courses with Field Studies Council [...]
Hay Festival Mug Design
Hay Festival approached me early in the year, to see if I could [...]
Trees: Yew
Trees: Yew is another blog inspired by my illustrations for The Tree Forager [...]
Geraniums, Crane’s-bills and Stork’s-bills
Geraniums, Crane’s-bills and Stork’s-bills is a guest blog from the wonderful Stewart Roberts, a [...]
The Hidden Universe: Pen and Ink Illustrations
The Hidden Universe by Alexandre Antonelli is a short and powerful book. I [...]
Paintbrushes: Exploring synthetics Part 2
This blog is a follow up to one I wrote a while ago [...]
Trees: Elder
Trees: Elder is another blog inspired by my illustrations for “The Tree Forager” [...]
Buzzards, Kites and Kestrels
Buzzards, kites, and kestrels in a guest blog from a naturalist who lives [...]
The Treeline – Book Illustrations
The Treeline: The last forest and the future of life on earth by [...]
Nature Notebook & The Family Tree
Nature notebooks seem to have run in my family for a long time. [...]
Heath Star Moss Sketchbook study
Heath star moss is one of three invasive species I’ve just illustrated for [...]
Step by step illustration of a Robin
Step by step blogs can be tricky to write – I often don’t [...]
Holly: History, Folklore & Wales
Holly: History & Folklore is a guest blog from the wonderful Stewart Roberts, [...]
Habit sketch of Cow parsley: step by step
Habit sketches are an important aspect of doing botanical illustrations. They need to [...]
Cow Parsley: All about an Umbellifer
Cow parsley Anthriscus sylvestris was on the list of plants I recently illustrated [...]
Cannock Chase Museum: Exploring botany
Cannock Chase Museum: Botany Cannock Chase museum was our destination on a recent [...]
Blueberry: step by step Pen and Ink illustration
I recently completed a blueberry illustration for a packaging job, and thought it’d [...]
Trees: Rowan
Trees: Rowan is another blog inspired by my illustrations for “The Tree Forager” [...]
Equipment: Paintbrushes
Equipment: Paintbrushes is another in the series about what tools I use when [...]
Illustrations for “30 animals that made us smarter”
A recent commission saw me completing pen and ink illustrations for “30 animals [...]
Illustrating Bracken and Ferns
Illustrating bracken and ferns may seem to be a really difficult job. However, [...]
Wood Ants: Illustrating a guide to the wood ants of the Cairngorms
Earlier this year, I had one of the hardest and most wonderful jobs. [...]
Step by step Downy Birch leaves
This blog shows how to ink up the Downy Birch leaves and catkins, [...]
Trees: Hawthorn
Trees: Hawthorn is another blog inspired by my illustrations for “The Tree Forager” [...]
The Gwent Levels: Botanical illustrations
The Gwent levels are a fascinating corner of Wales, tucked between Cardiff and [...]
Equipment: Magnifiers and scalpels
In Equipment: Magnifiers and scalpels, I won’t only be looking at these two [...]
Chequered Skipper Butterfly Illustration
Chequered skipper butterflies used to be comparatively common in England, but became extinct [...]
Being Hacked on Instagram
Being hacked on Instagram: this blog is the tale of a scam. Luckily, [...]
Trees: Ash
Trees: Ash This is the third in my series on common trees, and [...]
Equipment: Pencils & Erasers
This is another blog in the series on equipment used. Check out earlier [...]
A Life on Our Planet – Working with Sir David Attenborough
A Life on Our Planet, David Attenborough’s recent book, is extremely important. In [...]
Equipment: Paints
Equipment: Paints is another in my series about materials and equipment used for [...]
Trees: Sycamore
Trees: Sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus is a maple, and is Europe’s largest maple species. [...]
Trees: English Oak
I’ve been working on illustrations for “The Tree Forager” by Adele Nozedar, due [...]
Equipment: How to Choose a Waterproof Pen and Ink for Watercolour
Equipment: How to Choose a Waterproof Pen and Ink for Watercolour is a [...]
Botanical Illustration of a Sycamore Leaf
This blog follows on from my earlier step by step post on drawing [...]
Comparing Periwinkle Species
Periwinkle species feature on the list of a recent job of invasive plants [...]
Butterflies of Bentham Sand dunes
Several butterflies are included in the recent landscape illustration completed for South Devon [...]
Bantham Sand Dunes Landscape
A recent commission for South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty involved creating [...]
Comparing Common and Japanese Hops
A recent job involved highlighting differences between the Japanese hop Humulus japonicus, and the [...]
How to Draw: Sycamore Leaf
Drawing is at the heart of being a botanical illustrator. You need to [...]
Comparing Hogweed Heracleum Species
A recent job involved trying to show the differences between two species of [...]
Comparing Goldenrod Species
Comparing Goldenrod species was one of my tasks in a recent commission for [...]
Garden Lupin Sketchbook study
The Garden Lupin, Lupinus polyphyllus, is one of the invasive plants I was [...]
Unexpected Thrills: Adventures of an Illustrator
Unexpected Thrills: Adventures of an Illustrator is a blog about some of the [...]
Illustrating a Wild Welsh Meadow of Butterflies
Illustrating a wild Welsh meadow complete with clouds of butterflies was a wonderful [...]
Sketchbook illustrations of Invasive Plants
I’ve recently completed work on a series of sketchbook illustrations of invasive plants. [...]
Illustrating a Deer for Packaging
My earlier blog, Wild Shreds: Illustrating Pet Food packaging gave an overview of completing [...]
Wild Shreds: Illustrating Pet Food packaging
Wild Shreds is a range of dog food produced in the US. It [...]
Botanical Illustration of a Japanese Rose
In my last blog, Botanical illustration of Rose leaves, I discussed the processes [...]
Botanical Illustration of Rose Leaves
A recent job involved illustrating the Japanese Rose, Rosa rugosa. It’s not the [...]
How Love for Nature can Make an Individual Optimistic
This guest blog on how love for nature can make us optimistic is [...]
Jersey Post: Illustrating Thrift
In February, my series of Coastal Flower postage stamps were published by Jersey [...]
Jersey Post: Coastal Flowers Stamp issue
Jersey Post recently brought out their “Coastal Flowers: Post and Go” stamp issue, [...]
Halophytes: Salt Tolerant Plants
Halophytes: Salt Tolerant Plants Halophytes are plants that tolerate or thrive in salty [...]
Coastal Flowers: Illustrating a Flower Guide
I’ve recently completed a series of thirty three botanical illustrations of coastal flowers [...]
Illustration and Packaging
Illustration and packaging have always gone hand in hand. By their very nature, [...]
Save the Bees: How to Make Your Garden a Bee Haven
Save the bees and make your garden a Bee haven! This week’s Guest [...]
Illustrating Butterflies Workshop
Illustrating butterflies is wonderful, but has its challenges. I recently taught a two [...]
Flora Margarine in Sweden
Flora Margarine Repackaged Flora in Sweden have recently re-designed their packaging. And [...]
Pied Wagtail Illustration
Pied Wagtail The Pied Wagtail Motacilla alba yarrellii is a common garden and [...]