Happy Saturday, friend,

After a difficult year, the molluscs of Bristol are breathing a sigh of relief through their pneumostomes (air holes). Slithering happily up the wet brick wall outside my studio, they head to the flowerbeds for breakfast.

‘Climbing up to the mint’ - click for advance access to browse and buy from the exhibition catalogue

Wild invitation

The Society of Wildlife Artists’ annual exhibition ‘The Natural Eye’ opens to the public on 16th October. As an exhibitor, I am delighted to invite you to the Private View on the afternoon of 15th October. Set between Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square, this is a fun, friendly event, buzzing with contemporary wildlife artists and collectors. The musician David Gray will open the show at 3pm. Feel free to save or print the image below as your ticket. If you click it, you will link to the full exhibition information.

Beetles

As well as a deep dive into the world of museum-curated insect specimens, the work has been reminiscent of my days of project management: Trying to define the deliverables, and to get buy-in from interested parties has been intense! My sketchbook is filling up, and the concept is starting to gain traction with potential exhibition opportunities. With enthusiastic support and help from the entomologists in Bristol, and the Natural History, museums. They seem really keen to share the importance of keystone species like dung beetles, and the environmental conditions needed for those species to thrive.

With Rhian and Nick in Bristol Museum & Art Gallery basement. They have been so helpful digging out specimens for me to draw, teaching me relevant details to portray in a convincing natural context. And the fascinating labelling conventions, which unlock useful historical data, such as when and where the specimens were collected.

Peoples

In case you were wondering, I haven't lost interest in the human form!
1 - A fantastic session of aerial life drawing run by United Models Lifedrawing in Bristol. This quick sketch shows circus performer Jen Hebden, who used a trapeze and other equipment to create challenging (both to hold and to draw) short poses.
2 - A free online workshop (heads and hands) by Jake Spicer for Draw Brighton, demonstrating Derwent's newly extended colour range of my favourite drawing pencils. This was a 20 minute sketch of Hannah Barker using the pencils.
3 - A studio shot at the end of my hosting a client trying the wonderful experience of life modelling. Shared with permission. Contact me for info if you want to know more about this, or my more conventional portraiture services!
4 - Nick sat for his portrait, to go with the one of Angela from a couple of years ago. It was such a fun day, and very helpful to borrow hers back to make sure the styles were as consistent as possible.

Finally, a shot of the inaugural meeting of Bristol Plein Air Painters. We were blessed with blue skies, and the volunteers on The Matthew (a replica of John Cabot's ship in Bristol Harbour) invited us on board to paint.

Thanks for being here for the journey, don't forget to let me know if you'd like tickets to the Private View, or portrait information,
Gxxx

The Windmills Of My Mind

Beetles, Peoples, and a wild invitation