Love Birds

I painted this for my wife one Valentine's Day.
It's now available from the gallery as a card. Visit the website if you haven't already found the perfect gift.

Talk and Slide Show on Masai Mara Scheduled

I have rescheduled my talk about my adventures in Kenya's Masai Mara to March 17th, after it was cancelled due to the heavy snow last November.My trips to the Masai Mara have been among the most awe-inspiring of my career. The thrill of seeing more than a million wildebeest and zebra as they plunge across the crocidile infested Mara river is one of the highlights.

But it is also the sheer quantities of game, including of course the predators that follow them on what is the world's longest migration, that really enthralls.

Please do come and hear all about these experiences on March 17th. It will take place at 7.30pm here at the gallery and costs £5 a ticket, which includes refreshments.

To book a place follow this link or call 01759 368355.

Hunkering Down

I spent a morning during the worst of the snows watching these partridges cope with the cold

The experience inspired me for my latest column in the Ryedale Gazette & Herald. Click here to read it.

They reminded me of a painting I had not long finished.

Year of the Hare?

Chinese New Year begins tomorrow and this time we're entering the Year of the Rabbit.

But according to the Wood Land Trust it was the hare that first figured in Chinese mythology and only changed to a rabbit in modern Chinese horoscopes.
I plan focus on hares for my exhibition this summer after learning that this species is actually the fastest declining mammal in the country.

My successful 'hare watch' over the winter has given me plenty of material to use for a whole new series of paintings and I've already begun painting up boards ready. The exhibition opens on June 4th and runs until the 19th.

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

Don't forget to take part in the RSPB big garden birdwatch this weekend. Apparently the RSPB is expecting more unusual 'countryside' birds like this brambling to feature this year because the cold weather has tempted more of these shier species to try the feeders in suburban gardens.
My garden is so rural that I already get a lot of dunnocks, fieldfares, bramblings and red wings, but it will be interesting to see what the results of the nationwide count will be.
To register or to submit your results, click here to link to the RSPB's website.

TV Owls

If you missed it, click here to see the Look North news clip about my barn owl crisis.
The cameraman got some great shots of an owl resting on this same stable door.
It was such a shame because the pair in this painting were among those that perished in the snows.
Temperatures have dropped again this week and this morning I woke up to a dusting of snow on the ground- let's hope the remaining barn owls cope.

Barn Owls make TV Headlines

My barn owls were on TV today. Look North (North East and Cumbria) featured the barn owl crisis on its lunch time news.
North Yorkshire correspondent Peter Lugg came to the gallery yesterday to film the few barn owls that have survived this brutal winter.
The piece will be repeated again tonight at 6.30pm, so look out for it.