Plant life

A drawing/watercolour of orchids at RHS Wisley. This was quite a fiddly one. Fun to draw, especially the twisting turning leaves, bulbs, and intricate flowers. The colour was more tricky, building up quite a… Continue reading →

St Eustace

My recent visit to Richmond Park I was reminded of the painting of The Vision of St Eustace by Pisanello in the National Gallery, which I drew some while ago. I bought a… Continue reading →

The Palm House at Kew

I’m really enjoying being back in the suburbs and re-visiting old haunts. And so to Kew Gardens again, I made several drawings of it years ago when I was mainly working in pen.… Continue reading →

Cacti at Kew

After a lot of time teaching and not much time drawing and painting, it’s been good to get the brushes out and do some painting from observation at Kew Gardens. This was supposed to… Continue reading →

A Giant Galápagos Tortoise

Recently I was fortunate to be allowed behind the scenes at the Oxford University Natural History Museum to draw this giant Galápagos tortoise. If this tortoise was over a hundred years old (some… Continue reading →

Hiding in the Conservatory at the Barbican

Every Sunday the magical Conservatoryof the Barbican is open to the public, fight your way through the concrete jungle to a ‘proper’ jungle inside.

Bayham Old Abbey, East Sussex

Sketches from Bayham Old Abbey     Studies for a print or painting

Pick & Mix from the Archive

I’ve been putting together a portfolio recently and it’s been a good excuse to tidy up my plan chest and discover some things I’d completely forgotten about. And happily these ones are better… Continue reading →

Jacob and the Angel

In the mood for playing with paint, I sat down and made this from my head the other day. It was first inspired by the Botticelli Mystical Nativity I sketched at the National… Continue reading →

Winter’s morning in Wapping