Owls and more !

Apologies for not posting in a while, plenty of things have been happening and the 'juggling' still continues.

Not much painting has taken place.  I did start a picture of a Magnolia growing in our garden, but I seemed to have left it for too long and just can't get back into it.  It may be a case of leaving it on the drawing board and coming back to it next year.

I taught a very successful and happy lino-print workshop on the 16th March for the Society of Floral Painters.  The atmosphere was great and I think it was quite refreshing for many of us, as we all work in slightly different styles from a painting perspective, but print-making was a whole new world!  I have posted a couple of photos below, but more of a selection can be found at:
www.society-of-floral-painters.blogspot.com

The main thing that has been taking up our time is developing our garden in the recent spell of very warm weather.  It is only a smallish semi-urban garden, south-facing, but with a virtually non existant lawn.  We decided to take up the lawn and replace it with chippings and we have also increased the size of the borders significantly.  That way we can plant a selection of plants that will attract bees, butterflies and other insects over the coming months.

The workshops with the Wildlife Trust have been well supported this year and the next one on the 21st April has 8 students on it.  So I look forward to meeting all of them to paint features of Spring trees.
Workshops and courses are detailed below and you can also download a PDF of the leaflet from my main website.

Derek and I had a great time at the Hawk Conservancy Trust near Andover, the other week.  We had an 'Owl experience' session and got to handle several species of owl.  They are all magnificent, but my favourites do have to be the Tawny and Barn Owl :)

A Spectacled Owl

Well, what next?  Definately more of a focus on my artwork.  In a few weeks I will be retiring from 20 years plus in childcare.  It used to be my main career before I went into ecology and in recent years I have taken it up again alongside my art career.  Osteoarthritis in my knees has forced me to stop, so I am looking forward to a new direction and starting my Botanical Art teaching role at Peter Symonds ACE in September.

Next weekend I will be at the Bursledon Brickworks Industrial Museum Craft and Heritage Fair, with a few pieces of artwork on display and some new editions of my lino-prints to sell.  I look forward to seeing some of you there !  In a few weekends time I will be visiting the Society of Botanical Artist Exhibition in London - really looking forward to it.