Game's On

My Christmas exhibition opened this morning with all the usual flurry of activity. The theme of the exhibition is game birds and my latest painting of a partridge covey seems to have gone down particularly well.

The focus on game birds got me thinking about how common it is to see pheasants sparring at this time of year, even though their breeding season doesn't begin until the spring.

Do look out for today's Yorkshire Post in which I concentrate on this subject in my monthly column.

The exhibition runs until November 28th and it is already shaping up to be a good one - if wildly busy. There are various events taking place throughout the fortnight.

Later today we have a walk to spot winter migrants with experienced birdwatcher Michael Flowers and tomorrow there is a walk to find red kites on the Yorkshire Wolds.

On Tuesday night my neighbour, the gardener Gilda Brader and the couture designer Jennie Palmer will be showing visitors how to make floral and fabric decorations for Christmas. This event has already sold out!

Waxwings

I've been out photographing waxwings this week and I have some cracking photographs. This is just one of them, but the best are still in my camera. I'm too busy getting ready for the exhibition, which opens tomorrow, to load the rest up just now but watch this space!

The professional bird watcher Michael Flowers will be taking visitors to my exhibition on a walk tomorrow to try to find winter migrants on the Yorkshire Wolds.

I travelled to Kirkbymoorside to see the waxwings and I saw about 120 birds. I hope the visitors find a few because they really are such beautiful birds.

Finishing Touches

I've been hanging my new original oil paintings today in preparation for the Christmas Exhibition which opens the day after tomorrow.
There's quite a trick to getting them looking right on the walls.

Lily Spots a Sparrowhawk

My two-year-old daughter Lily is getting quite adept at spotting wildlife. The other day she picked out a sparrowhawk before I did.
Although she didn't identify it correctly, I was impressed.
She and I watched the sparrowhawk as it tried to find its prey hidden in the grass. Click here to read my column in the Ryedale Gazette & Herald on the story.

Kingfishers King of the Waterways

Wasn't it good to read this week how the number of kingfishers spotted along Britain's rivers and canals have more than trebled this year?

There had been some concerns that these beautiful birds could have been badly hit by last year's harsh winter, so it was heartening to know that a wildlife survey by British Waterways showed they have been seen in record numbers this year.

According to the survey, the number of mink has simultaneously declined - which could have something to do with the boost in the kingfisher population. British Waterways has claimed the credit for the boost, pointing to its improvements in water quality and habitat management. I hope it continues. Getting the right colours to paint these birds is always a challenge but these two paintings are among my most popular.

Sneak Digital Preview of My New Paintings

This is the front cover of a new digital book featuring all of my new original oil paintings. If you would like a sneak preview please click here.

Autumn Display

I've been so busy finishing off my paintings for the exhibition that I haven't had time to go out and get any photographs of the wonderful autumn display we've been having. And then when I finally did get out this morning the storm we had last night had blown most of the leaves off!
The dry weather we've been enjoying recently gives you just the chemical reaction you need to turn the leaves to such beautiful russets and golds.I particularly wanted to get pictures of leaf litter because this is something I often need as background for my paintings, like in this one below.I often have to work on getting photographs for paintings a year in advance because the wildlife window is so short.
There have been quite a few sightings of waxwings this year, including more than a 100 spotted at Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham at the weekend, and since there were none at all last year I really do need to make sure I get out and get some more photographs of them for next year.