Batik Workshop

The year has moved around again and once more it is time for Summer School. This annual event is held at The Beaufort Community School in Gloucester and is organised by the Gloucester Arts and Crafts Group. Over a week, during the school's summer holidays, the group takes over numerous classrooms with which to provide various workshops at a very reasonable price. These workshops range from 2 to 5 day courses and covers subjects such as jewellery making, painting, sculpture, wood chair making, silk painting, mossaic's and batik.

My batik course runs for the full 5 days and this year I have 6 students, all ladies; four of whom have been on my course in previous years. Yesterday was Day One; the weather was hot and sunny (for a change) and I took the two newcommers, Avril and Monica, through the process of using the wax, building layers, colour mixing, brush and tjanting use and creating textures. They both seem to be enthused and I look forward to seeing their creations that they produce through the week.

Del, Jenny, and Gill have all been before and quickly got back into the swing of things, they started off with easier projects to 're-aqauaint' themselves with the medium. Hazel is only coming in for two days this year (Thursday and Friday) and Gill has to go back to work on Tuesday as one of her colleagues is on jury service.

Teaching is a little more tricky for me this year as I am currently in Phase One of a frozen shoulder, I had a steroid injection into the joint last Monday and this now seems to be lowering the amount of pain  but not taken it away completely, so I am finding leaning over the table  and not being able to sit and rest my arm during the day a little uncomfortable at the moment. Hopefully that will improve during the week.

We are in for a week of beautiful sunshine and fun playing with batik.

Silk Painting Workshop

In October I shall be tutoring a one day workshop of silk painting. This is part of the Avon Gorge and Down Wildlife Project's activities for the Autumn and the idea will be to go up onto the Downs to gather ideas and references like leaves, berries and seed heads in the morning. In the afternoon we shall then do some lovely creative work turning these references into beautiful images to reflect the autumnal colours and shapes.

If you are interested in taking part in this workshop please contact Mandy Leivers via the Avon Gorge and Downs link on the right hand side of this page.

New painting started - Two bulls

I'm really excited about doing this piece as I'm going to attempt a looser approach with it. I did a small study that was quite loose (for me) and liked the feel of it, so I am going to go for it with this one too. To help me keep loose I have prepared a 20" x 30" canvas (more space than I'm used to, to fill) and all my reference pictures that I am going to have on hand will be out of focus shots I have taken of bull elephants!

I saw these two particular bulls whilst in the Okavango Delta one evening as we drove down past the airstrip. They were hanging out together and I thought it would make a nice change to have a "buddy" pic of two bull elephants rather than a pair of rivals clashing/sparring. I know the latter is greatly dramatic but I kinda like showing the quieter side of elephant life.

Bull elephants have buddy groups and, when they are not in musth, they hang out with each other. So they are not the solitary animals that they were once thought to be. They are very social and the big older bulls act as teachers and role models for the younger bulls, who will often form an attachment to them, passing on their vast stored knowledge of resources and the land they roam just as the matriarchs do in the female society.

I am hoping Dr Kate Evans, whom I stayed with at their research camp in the Delta, can remember or recognise these two fellas as I'd really like to name them in the title. The finished painting (should it turn out well) will go towards the body of work I shall exhibit as a result of that trip to raise funds and awareness for the Elephants For Africa Trust.

Hollywood Towers Estate sketching 7th March

This is my first trip out to the estate (H.T.E.) this year and it was a glorious afternoon. I usually go out in the morning’s, when I visit, but after chatting with my boss, Phil, he agreed I could swap over to the afternoon to try and take advantage of the better weather that was forecast. I have an ongoing “project” to make a sketch/photo archive of the Estate before it gets developed for the zoo’s new venture – The National Wildlife Conservation Park

And as part of my “in-house” training I have a free sketch morning every two weeks – work allowing. Of course that does mean that there are weeks when I cannot get out for my “free” sketch mornings, so I really appreciate it when I can.

The day was a mix of bright sunshine, cloud cover and some rain, but as the afternoon approached thankfully most of the rain had moved on. Still it was cold and a wee bit blustery, especially on in the wooded escarpment. At times the wind picked up and howled through the bare tree branches, sending icy chills through me even though I had dressed accordingly with thermals, thick warm coat, scarf and wellies. It was quite squidgey in places underfoot, too and a few times I nearly came a cropper on the steep muddy tracks through the trees.

But what a fab day it was… the light was gorgeous and the Spring flowers were showing.

Primrose

The snowdrops were as good as finished apart from a few patches here and there, the daffodils were starting to look good, primroses were starting to flower and I even saw one or two bluebell heads just breaking into colour. I started the afternoon sitting to one side the driveway that leads up to the manor house. I had been told there was a good show of daffodils here, so I got out my new comfier foldaway chair and sat to sketch them. A fine investment of £5 in the January sales! Much better than the tripod stool I have used for the last 20 or so years!


After about an hour I had finished my sketch - using an ink drawing pen followed by watercolour paint. I had gotten quite cold, sitting still for that time, so I marched on across the fields towards the wooded escarpment, which warmed me up nicely. Just as well, because it was a bit chillier in under the trees, out of direct sunlight!

Roe deer buck - Not a great photo, but the best I could get in the low light

Wildlife-wise during the afternoon I saw a rabbit and roe deer about 20 times (although I am sure a number of these were the same animals) especially towards the end of the afternoon in the wood. The bucks are in velvet and several of both sexes looked quite scruffy coat-wise on their backs- I guess they are moulting out their thicker winter coats now. Late afternoon I saw the resident male fox with his strong orange coloured coat. He trotted along the wood path towards me, stopped, watched me for about 30 seconds before turning and making his escape quickly.

Buzzard

Buzzards hung in the wind hanging almost stationary in the air above the treetops, catching the strong updrafts that must sweep up the Bristol Channel, across the flat land before hitting and rising up and through the trees over the escarpment. There were clear views across to the Estuary and I could see both Severn Crossing bridges clearly. Jays, crows, blackbirds and numerous other birds called, some warning about my approach to all who wanted to listen as I walked or sat in the woods.

I sat in one of the large “bowls” on the lower side of the wood. I had spotted my first deer of the day, a pair of roe walking by higher on the slope. They did not seem aware of me and ambled by slowly without even glancing in my direction. I set myself up in my chair against the trunk of a large tree to get a little protection from the icy wind blowing through. I kept my eyes open for more deer as I sketched, but didn’t see any until an hour or so later as I walked on through the woods, taking the long route on the way back to my car.

Looking up from one of the "bowls" at the west end of the wood

Sitting in the bowl I had a panoramic view of the wood.. it is still open and airy whilst there are no leaves on the trees… but it won’t be long before it will feel dark and enclosed by the summer’s canopy.


I sketched a fallen moss covered branch and got even colder than earlier. As the afternoon wore on, I phoned in with the garden department, that are permanently on site, to let them know I would be staying after their clocking off time; it was arranged that I would drop the keys into one of the one-site cottages as I left so that they would know I was safe and off site.

I wanted to see the sun go down and experience the wood at this time. As I walked on I had no need to hurry - unlike when I am there in the mornings, when I have to get back to the zoo to work. It was wonderful to have that time and to be able to stop and watch the deer. For most of the time the strong gusting wind was in my favour, being downwind my sounds and smell did not reach the deer as they walked through the lower part of the wood. However, as the wood is so open at the moment, it was easy for them to see me so I was careful to use large trees to hide behind, if I spotted them first.

Late afternoon sun

The lowering orangey light, shining through the trees in a few places, looked stunning. By the time I got back up to the walled garden, where I had parked my car earlier, it was sundown. I got a few photo’s of trees silhouetted against the sunset. Perfect end to a wonderful afternoon.

Sundown silhouettes

Happy New Year!

Already the end of the first week of the New Year is almost upon us. There is a change to what has become normal for me over the last 8 years after Christmas and New Year. I have changed the time I have off from the zoo around. Instead of the three month period running Jan, Feb and March now it is split into two blocks- January and then September/October. This will hopefully benefit the zoo in that I shall be at work there in the run up to Easter and the Summer Season (the busiest time for me) and my time away will coincide more with the quieter times of my work calendar. From a personal view it should help me financially and the light in Sept and Oct will be better for painting. Also as I have been doing my artist in residency in Oct these last two years, it means I don’t need to use paid holiday from the zoo to do that. So, hopefully better all round.

At the moment I have my head stuck in a pile of receipts etc preparing my accounts, trying to get them done so I can get on with some painting. And just today a new superdooper light has arrived for me to clamp to my easel. I have invested in a new daylight tube lamp which a few of my friends use and have recommended to me. I am keen to try it out; it should help enormously at this time of year with bad light from gloomy weather and nights drawing in around 3.30-4pm.

Of course the cats are enjoying the fact that I am home; and right now I have one sat on my lap as I am sat here at the computer and the other has only just settled down to sleep after pestering me on and off all day to brush and play with him!

In my role as Wildlife Illustrator, at Bristol Zoo Gardens, I not only have the illustrations to do for the zoo’s animal identification signage, but the general up keep of them as well. Apart from painting and drawing, this involves a lot of computer work; where I have to have a basic working knowledge of the design software applications of Freehand, Quark and Photoshop (I have just recently started to learn to use Adobe Illustrator, as well, as we are switching over all IDs from Quark and Freehand). I also often do a lot of other little jobs, sometimes connected with the ID signage, sometimes not.

My work on the computer involves compiling new ID signs and editing information (putting distribution ranges on maps and dropping in animal information text, scanning in illustrations and editing size, blemishes, colour, backgrounds etc). After printing completed signs from the computer, they then need to be trimmed to size and after being sealed in laminate (which we have a machine for and I do myself), trimmed to size again, strips of adhesive put on the back and then putting the signs up on/by their respective enclosures.

This is an old pic of me (hair colour and length since changed) but it shows me changing ID signs in situ.

I do regular “sweeps” of the zoo to check the signage for missing, damaged or faded signs that I then need to replace. This year I have tried to do a “sweep” every 2 months to try and keep up with the ravages of weather, wear and mischievous imps.



So my work is really quite varied and far removed from just drawing or painting all day, every day.

To give you an idea.. This is what I have been doing over the last three weeks….

*Screwed ID holder to exterior of a bird aviary.
*Observing and taking close up anatomical detail photos of an Indian violin mantis – transferring details to drawing already done of the animal.
*Drawing a mega mantis.
*Painting a mega mantis – getting it checked and ok’d by animal dept. Scanned illustration on computer and picture file incorporated onto ID sign file.
*Learning to use Adobe Illustrator and rebuilding old Quark and Freehand ID sign templates in Adobe Illustrator.
*One morning spent sketching and photoing out at the Hollywood Towers Estate.
*Walking zoo grounds checking Christmas animal light shape displays for any that are bent and mis-shapen.
*Walking zoo grounds doing an ID sign check - “sweep”.
*Photoing and observing Madagascan blue stick insects ready for when I am to illustrate them.
*Several “Maintenance job request forms” done for work required on ID sign related stuff.
*Removed old sign board from an animal enclosure.
*Rescrewed into place an amenities sign blown down by wind.
*Overseeing rebending of mis-shapen Christmas animal light shapes.
*Painting background for Indian violin mantis.
*Hole punched and hammered in metal eyelets into laminate on some bird ID signs.
*30 ID signs printed, trimmed, laminated, trimmed and put up on respective animal enclosures.

Workshops at Nature In Art

Just been booked for another workshop next year and one for possibly January 2013; both at the Nature In Art Museum and Art Gallery in Gloucestershire.

In Sept next year I shall be tutoring a two day workshop for batik on the weekend of 29th & 30th. It has been a while since I have done a workshop at this wonderful venue, so I am looking forward to it enormously. This ties in nicely with my Artist in Residence week that follows there shortly afterwards from Oct 8th - 14th.

Butterfly fish batik I did in between helping my students on the 5 day workshop I tutored earlier this year.

And if the other workshop goes ahead as planned that will be the following January, although I have no dates as yet. The workshop will be held for 2 days over a weekend and it will be focusing on how to paint fur in oils. Although this workshop is very probable, I haven't had a confirmation for this as yet; but as soon as I do, I will post the dates.

For enquiries on booking a place on either of these workshops, please contact Nature In Art... found in my "Links" on the left hand side of this page.