Getting sheep dogs back to work

This smiley-faced dog is one of the chief instructors at a York-based training centre for abandoned and unwanted border collies who will be visiting the gallery next Sunday.

He reminds me of the sheep dogs that used to work on the farm where I grew up in Givendale. They were so intelligent!

Named Nap, this old dog is missing a few teeth but still maintains an enviable work ethic. He takes new canine recruits at Border Collie Rescue under his paw, so to speak. 

The charity's uses Nap to help them assess new arrivals at the home and then gets him to help them train the young pups up accordingly.

Border collies are well known for their intelligence. The breed dates back to the raids on the Scottish Borders. Raiders would use the dogs to shepherd plundered stock back to homesteads – getting the dogs to herd the stolen flock alone so that the men could avoid the risk of risk getting caught with stolen property.

Come and meet Nap and some of his recruits from Border Collie Rescue here at TheRobert Fuller Gallery Fotherdale Farm, Thixendale YO17 9LS on Sunday 12thMay.  The talk, Border Collie – A useful dog is at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £9.50, 50% of which goes to Border Collie Rescue.
Get Tickets 

Summer Exhibition will Showcase Barn Owl Paintings

I need to get this painting of a barn owl finished in time for my summer exhibition which opens on June 1st.

 I photographed it at each stage of the process.

First I blocked in the basic background colours and positioned my owl, scarping away any unwanted textures with a scalpel.

Then I outlined the shape of the owl.

Next I put down the basic colours for the owl and build up a little more of the background.It takes a long time to add the detail and get the textured, feathered effect I want. I always paint in the direction  that the feathers lie to get this right.

I will be showcasing my barn owl paintings at the exhibition, which is open here at the gallery in Thixendale, North Yorkshire, everyday from 11am to 4.30pm.
I decided to focus on barn owls this year in celebration of the fact that they are thriving again here on the Yorkshire Wolds.
You may remember we lost nearly 80pc of the local population during the particularly harsh winter of 2010, but the surviving pairs bred last year and the year before so that we are back on course now. There's nothing quite as beautiful as a barn owl gliding across the countryside in the evening!!!

Wildflower meadow for National Gardening Week

This week is National Gardening Week and I'm planting a wild flower meadow in recognition. Of course I also want to attract lots of birds, insects and butterflies to the garden so that I can watch -and paint - them from the house. I'll be planting plenty of teasel in the mix for goldfinch, like the ones I painted below feeding on teasel heads.

Whilst preparing the ground for my new studio last year, I got the builders to dump the soil from the works onto this patch at the front of the garden.
It's almost solid chalk with barely any top soil, which will be ideal for wild flowers.



 I began sowing the seeds today. They include oxeye daisy, scabious, yellow rattle, birdsfoot trefoil, knapweed, kidney vetch and plenty of others. In fact I've got more wild flowers in my mix than grass.

 I collected many of the seeds from wild flowers already growing in the gallery car park, which makes the project a bit cheaper!

After this I'll cover the meadow with a thin layer of top soil and keep it watered. I'll keep posting as it progresses to show you how I get on.

Falcon and boy reunited thanks to Facebook!

When 17-year-old James Dickinson lost his beloved lanner falcon over Barnsley this week he was devastated.

The young female falcon, named Nakela, was his pride and joy and when she didn't come back before nightfall he really did think she was gone forever.
But luckily for him she took off towards the Yorkshire Wolds and landed just a few miles from the gallery - nearly 80 miles from where she had disappeared whilst performing in a display.
A neighbouring farmer spotted her and noticed that she was ringed so rang me up.

I drove out and picked her up, then posted this picture with an appeal on Facebook and by the following morning I'd found her owner!!!! Amazing what social media can do. I'm just so pleased that they are reunited, James was so happy to have her back!

Spring Blues

This long cold spring has got to me. I started on this painting today because I needed to feel that summer will come - sometime!

I hear that a few swallows have been spotted arriving though. Hope they can stand these cold winds

National Sparrow Day

It was National Sparrow Day yesterday so I thought I'd post this photograph. I've been under some pressure to turn the image into a painting - would be quite a difficult one to do though!

Farm Fun!

The farm event on Saturday was a great success, despite the cold. We had some 200 children and they all adored handling the animals.

There were lambs, piglets, ponies, birds of prey...

Even mice!