I recently went to Al la Ronde National Trust property, Exmouth in Devon and they have this wonderful display of upcycled tree decorations made out of plastic bottles. Girl Guides, Brownies and Rainbows created these flowers. They look great in the sunlight and I thought a creative way of reusing plastic waste. A good craft …
My third book in the poetic science and nature series is almost ready on mirrors and light. I had hoped to publish this new book in September but the illustrations have been quite a challenge! This draft mirror sketch was done on an iPad but I ended up abandoning it. Don’t worry, there is another …
I had an unexpected visitor last night! Watching wildlife is so rewarding and it’s great to see hedgehogs in our neighbourhood when I live in a town. I put out some cat food for the hedghog, which he finished and a bowl of water. Plan to leave more food this evening and hope he/she calls …
For a couple of years I never had much luck with feeding the birds. I tried peanuts, fat balls and hanging seeders (as shown on the right) but the food always went bad before it all got eaten. My neighbour behind me had better luck with plenty of birds visiting. So eventually I gave up …
Tomorrow Wednesday 7th my illustrated poem on the water cycle will be free to download. *This free offer has now expired but this children’s ebook can still be downloaded for just £1.99 or free with kindle unlimited* I’m hoping my poems will make nature and scientific concepts more easily understood and fun to learn. So …
The heat wave has now gone in the UK and been replaced by a lot of rain water. My sympathies to all those that have been flooded. We do seem to be getting more extreme weather events, which is a worry. I live quite near the river Exe in Devon but thankfully they have done …
Today seems to be an appropriate day to share some information about my next poetry book on the water cycle. Reason being we’ve finally had rain after a long dry spell. The garden needed it and I’m pleased my water butt is full again, as I have four very thirsty tomato plants! I’ve almost finished …
Sometime ago I wrote some educational poetry on a science and nature theme. Ever since, apart from one blog post, the poems have sat in a drawer! I’m excited to say however that is changing, as I got the idea to illustrate them. With the help of a teacher friend they have been banded into …
Yesterday I went to an acrylic painting workshop organised by Topsham Art Group (TAG). The tutor was Greg Mason, a finalist on Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year. I really enjoyed it and it was interesting to see how everyone’s painting differed from the same photographic material. The photograph we were working from is …
Since I started glass painting I have found glass paint is great for repairs and upcycling. It is tough and of course water proof. So when my little robin garden solar light became very faded, I decided I’d try repairing him using glass paints. The solar light still worked but the sun had bleached the …
